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Lognormal Distribution
In probability theory, a log-normal (or lognormal) distribution is a continuous probability distribution of a random variable whose logarithm is normally distributed. Thus, if the random variable is log-normally distributed, then has a normal distribution. Equivalently, if has a normal distribution, then the exponential function of , , has a log-normal distribution. A random variable which is log-normally distributed takes only positive real values. It is a convenient and useful model for measurements in exact and engineering sciences, as well as medicine, economics and other topics (e.g., energies, concentrations, lengths, prices of financial instruments, and other metrics). The distribution is occasionally referred to as the Galton distribution or Galton's distribution, after Francis Galton. The log-normal distribution has also been associated with other names, such as McAlister, Gibrat and Cobb–Douglas. A log-normal process is the statistical realization of the mult ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maximum Entropy Probability Distribution
In statistics and information theory, a maximum entropy probability distribution has entropy that is at least as great as that of all other members of a specified class of probability distributions. According to the principle of maximum entropy, if nothing is known about a distribution except that it belongs to a certain class (usually defined in terms of specified properties or measures), then the distribution with the largest entropy should be chosen as the least-informative default. The motivation is twofold: first, maximizing entropy minimizes the amount of prior information built into the distribution; second, many physical systems tend to move towards maximal entropy configurations over time. Definition of entropy and differential entropy If X is a discrete random variable with distribution given by :\operatorname(X=x_k) = p_k \quad\mbox k=1,2,\ldots then the entropy of X is defined as :H(X) = - \sum_p_k\log p_k . If X is a continuous random variable with probabili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formal Series
In mathematics, a formal series is an infinite sum that is considered independently from any notion of convergence, and can be manipulated with the usual algebraic operations on series (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, partial sums, etc.). A formal power series is a special kind of formal series, whose terms are of the form a x^n where x^n is the nth power of a variable x (n is a non-negative integer), and a is called the coefficient. Hence, power series can be viewed as a generalization of polynomials, where the number of terms is allowed to be infinite, with no requirements of convergence. Thus, the series may no longer represent a function of its variable, merely a formal sequence of coefficients, in contrast to a power series, which defines a function by taking numerical values for the variable within a radius of convergence. In a formal power series, the x^n are used only as position-holders for the coefficients, so that the coefficient of x^5 is the fifth ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analytic Function
In mathematics, an analytic function is a function that is locally given by a convergent power series. There exist both real analytic functions and complex analytic functions. Functions of each type are infinitely differentiable, but complex analytic functions exhibit properties that do not generally hold for real analytic functions. A function is analytic if and only if its Taylor series about ''x''0 converges to the function in some neighborhood for every ''x''0 in its domain. Definitions Formally, a function f is ''real analytic'' on an open set D in the real line if for any x_0\in D one can write : f(x) = \sum_^\infty a_ \left( x-x_0 \right)^ = a_0 + a_1 (x-x_0) + a_2 (x-x_0)^2 + a_3 (x-x_0)^3 + \cdots in which the coefficients a_0, a_1, \dots are real numbers and the series is convergent to f(x) for x in a neighborhood of x_0. Alternatively, a real analytic function is an infinitely differentiable function such that the Taylor series at any point x_0 in its domain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Characteristic Function (probability Theory)
In probability theory and statistics, the characteristic function of any real-valued random variable completely defines its probability distribution. If a random variable admits a probability density function, then the characteristic function is the Fourier transform of the probability density function. Thus it provides an alternative route to analytical results compared with working directly with probability density functions or cumulative distribution functions. There are particularly simple results for the characteristic functions of distributions defined by the weighted sums of random variables. In addition to univariate distributions, characteristic functions can be defined for vector- or matrix-valued random variables, and can also be extended to more generic cases. The characteristic function always exists when treated as a function of a real-valued argument, unlike the moment-generating function. There are relations between the behavior of the characteristic function of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Univariate Distribution
In statistics, a univariate distribution is a probability distribution of only one random variable. This is in contrast to a multivariate distribution, the probability distribution of a random vector (consisting of multiple random variables). Examples One of the simplest examples of a discrete univariate distribution is the discrete uniform distribution, where all elements of a finite set are equally likely. It is the probability model for the outcomes of tossing a fair coin, rolling a fair die, etc. The univariate continuous uniform distribution on an interval 'a'', ''b''has the property that all sub-intervals of the same length are equally likely. Other examples of discrete univariate distributions include the binomial, geometric, negative binomial, and Poisson distributions.Johnson, N.L., Kemp, A.W., and Kotz, S. (2005) Discrete Univariate Distributions, 3rd Edition, Wiley, . At least 750 univariate discrete distributions have been reported in the literature.Wimmer G, A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covariance Matrix
In probability theory and statistics, a covariance matrix (also known as auto-covariance matrix, dispersion matrix, variance matrix, or variance–covariance matrix) is a square matrix giving the covariance between each pair of elements of a given random vector. Any covariance matrix is symmetric and positive semi-definite and its main diagonal contains variances (i.e., the covariance of each element with itself). Intuitively, the covariance matrix generalizes the notion of variance to multiple dimensions. As an example, the variation in a collection of random points in two-dimensional space cannot be characterized fully by a single number, nor would the variances in the x and y directions contain all of the necessary information; a 2 \times 2 matrix would be necessary to fully characterize the two-dimensional variation. The covariance matrix of a random vector \mathbf is typically denoted by \operatorname_ or \Sigma. Definition Throughout this article, boldfaced unsubsc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multivariate Normal Distribution
In probability theory and statistics, the multivariate normal distribution, multivariate Gaussian distribution, or joint normal distribution is a generalization of the one-dimensional (univariate) normal distribution to higher dimensions. One definition is that a random vector is said to be ''k''-variate normally distributed if every linear combination of its ''k'' components has a univariate normal distribution. Its importance derives mainly from the multivariate central limit theorem. The multivariate normal distribution is often used to describe, at least approximately, any set of (possibly) correlated real-valued random variables each of which clusters around a mean value. Definitions Notation and parameterization The multivariate normal distribution of a ''k''-dimensional random vector \mathbf = (X_1,\ldots,X_k)^ can be written in the following notation: : \mathbf\ \sim\ \mathcal(\boldsymbol\mu,\, \boldsymbol\Sigma), or to make it explicitly known that ''X'' i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Complementary Error Function
In mathematics, the error function (also called the Gauss error function), often denoted by , is a complex function of a complex variable defined as: :\operatorname z = \frac\int_0^z e^\,\mathrm dt. This integral is a special (non-elementary) sigmoid function that occurs often in probability, statistics, and partial differential equations. In many of these applications, the function argument is a real number. If the function argument is real, then the function value is also real. In statistics, for non-negative values of , the error function has the following interpretation: for a random variable that is normally distributed with mean 0 and standard deviation , is the probability that falls in the range . Two closely related functions are the complementary error function () defined as :\operatorname z = 1 - \operatorname z, and the imaginary error function () defined as :\operatorname z = -i\operatorname iz, where is the imaginary unit Name The name "error function" an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cumulative Distribution Function
In probability theory and statistics, the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of a real-valued random variable X, or just distribution function of X, evaluated at x, is the probability that X will take a value less than or equal to x. Every probability distribution supported on the real numbers, discrete or "mixed" as well as continuous, is uniquely identified by an ''upwards continuous'' ''monotonic increasing'' cumulative distribution function F : \mathbb R \rightarrow ,1/math> satisfying \lim_F(x)=0 and \lim_F(x)=1. In the case of a scalar continuous distribution, it gives the area under the probability density function from minus infinity to x. Cumulative distribution functions are also used to specify the distribution of multivariate random variables. Definition The cumulative distribution function of a real-valued random variable X is the function given by where the right-hand side represents the probability that the random variable X takes on a value less tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lognormal Distribution
In probability theory, a log-normal (or lognormal) distribution is a continuous probability distribution of a random variable whose logarithm is normally distributed. Thus, if the random variable is log-normally distributed, then has a normal distribution. Equivalently, if has a normal distribution, then the exponential function of , , has a log-normal distribution. A random variable which is log-normally distributed takes only positive real values. It is a convenient and useful model for measurements in exact and engineering sciences, as well as medicine, economics and other topics (e.g., energies, concentrations, lengths, prices of financial instruments, and other metrics). The distribution is occasionally referred to as the Galton distribution or Galton's distribution, after Francis Galton. The log-normal distribution has also been associated with other names, such as McAlister, Gibrat and Cobb–Douglas. A log-normal process is the statistical realization of the multi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Deviation
In statistics, the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, while a high standard deviation indicates that the values are spread out over a wider range. Standard deviation may be abbreviated SD, and is most commonly represented in mathematical texts and equations by the lower case Greek letter σ (sigma), for the population standard deviation, or the Latin letter '' s'', for the sample standard deviation. The standard deviation of a random variable, sample, statistical population, data set, or probability distribution is the square root of its variance. It is algebraically simpler, though in practice less robust, than the average absolute deviation. A useful property of the standard deviation is that, unlike the variance, it is expressed in the same unit as the data. The standard deviation of a popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
