Determination of Sample Size for Distribution-free Tolerance Limits

Formulas for the moments of the better known probability distribution functions are available in the literature on the subject. Persons wishing to derive these formulas, however, may find standard methods to be quite laborious. For discrete probability functions, surprisingly compact and elegant derivations may be obtained by using finite difference operators. Examples of this approach are presented.     

Asymptotic approach for a renewal-reward process with a general interference of chance

ABSTRACT

In this study, a renewal-reward process with a discrete interference of chance is constructed and considered. Under weak conditions, the ergodicity of the process X(t) is proved and exact formulas for the ergodic distribution and its moments are found. Within some assumptions for the discrete interference of chance in general form, two-term asymptotic expansions for all moments of the ergodic distribution are obtained. Additionally, kurtosis coefficient, skewness coefficient, and coefficient of variation of the ergodic distribution are computed. As a special case, a semi-Markovian inventory model of type (s, S) is investigated.     

A note on deriving the discrete spectra of some continuous-time processes

Using only expressions for trigonometric functions, a straightforward derivation of the discrete spectra for some continuous-time processes observed at points in time and as integrals over time are obtained.     

A Recursive Formulation of the Old Problem of Obtaining Moments from Cumulants and Vice Versa

It seems difficult to find a formula in the literature that relates moments to cumulants (and vice versa) and is useful in computational work rather than in an algebraic approach. Hence I present four very simple recursive formulas that translate moments to cumulants and vice versa in the univariate and multivariate situations.     

Some New Bounds on the Probability of Extinction of a Galton–Watson Process with Numerical Comparisons

Some new upper and lower bounds for the extinction probability of a Galton–Watson process are presented. They are very easy to compute and can be used even if the offspring distribution has infinite variance. These new bounds are numerically compared to previously discussed bounds. Some definite guidelines are given concerning when these new bounds are preferable. Some open problems are also discussed.     

Detecting instants of jumps and estimating their intensity in the context of p derivatives with continuous or discrete data

In this article, we consider the ARD^(p)(1) process where D[0, 1] is the space of cadlag function and the pth derivative has a possible jump. One envisages to detect the position and intensity of jump in the context of p derivatives with continuous or discrete data. We also envisage jump for the (p + 1)th derivative. The main result allows to detect jump and to detect intensity of jump simultaneously. Asymptotic results are derived.     

Recurrence relations for moments of record values from generalized extreme value distribution

In this paper some recurrence relations between the moments of record values from the generalized extreme value distribution are established. It is shown that using these recurrence relations, all the single and product moments of all record values can be obtained in a simple recursive manner.     

Bimodal Birnbaum–Saunders distribution with applications to non negative measurements

In this article, we introduce a new extension of the Birnbaum–Saunders (BS) distribution as a follow-up to the family of skew-flexible-normal distributions. This extension produces a family of BS distributions including densities that can be unimodal as well as bimodal. This flexibility is important in dealing with positive bimodal data, given the difficulties experienced by the use of mixtures of distributions. Some basic properties of the new distribution are studied including moments. Parameter estimation is approached by the method of moments and also by maximum likelihood, including a derivation of the Fisher information matrix. Three real data illustrations indicate satisfactory performance of the proposed model.     

Moments Determine the Tail of a Distribution (But Not Much Else)

How much information does a finite collection of moments carry about the underlying distribution? We revive an old bound, give a new, simple formula for its calculation, and demonstrate that although very little can be said about the central part of the distribution, the tail is much more sharply defined.     

Two-dimensional Renewal Function Approximation

Two-dimensional renewal functions, which are naturally extensions of one-dimensional renewal functions, have wide applicability in areas where two random variables are needed to characterize the underlying process. These functions satisfy the renewal equation, which is not amenable for analytical solutions. This paper proposes a simple approximation for the computation of the two- dimensional renewal function based only on the first two moments and the correlation coefficient of the variables. The approximation yields exact values of renewal function for bivariate exponential distribution function. Illustrations are presented to compare our approximation with that of Iskandar (1991) who provided a computational procedure which requires the use of the bivariate distribution function of the two variables. A two-dimensional warranty model is used to illustrate the approximation.     

On the Moments of a Semi-Markovian Random Walk with Gaussian Distribution of Summands

In this article, a semi-Markovian random walk with delay and a discrete interference of chance (X(t)) is considered. It is assumed that the random variables ζ _n , n = 1, 2,…, which describe the discrete interference of chance form an ergodic Markov chain with ergodic distribution which is a gamma distribution with parameters (α, λ). Under this assumption, the asymptotic expansions for the first four moments of the ergodic distribution of the process X(t) are derived, as λ → 0. Moreover, by using the Riemann zeta-function, the coefficients of these asymptotic expansions are expressed by means of numerical characteristics of the summands, when the process considered is a semi-Markovian Gaussian random walk with small drift β.     

Extremes Values of Discrete and Continuous Time Strongly Dependent Gaussian Processes

The joint limit distribution of the maximum of a continuous, strongly dependent stationary Gaussian process and the maximum of this process sampled at discrete time points is studied. It is shown that these two extreme values are asymptotically totally dependent if the grid of the discrete time points is sufficiently dense, and asymptotically dependent if the the grid points are sparse or Pickands grids. Our results are motivated by the deep contributions Piterbarg (2004 Piterbarg , V. I. ( 2004 ). Discrete and continuous time extremes of Gaussian processes . Extremes 7 : 161 – 177 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Hüsler (2004 Hüsler , J. ( 2004 ). Dependence between extreme values of discrete and continuous time locally stationary Gaussian processes . Extremes 7 : 179 – 190 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]).     

Moment Information for Probability Distributions,Without Solving the Moment Problem. I: Where is the Mode?

How much information does a small number of moments carry about the unknown distribution function? Is it possible to explicitly obtain from these moments some useful information, e.g., about the support, the modality, the general shape, or the tails of a distribution, without going into a detailed numerical solution of the moment problem? In this paper a theoretical result of Johnson and Rogers is generalized to be valid for all moment problems and is exploited to demonstrate that a few moments are able to provide us with valuable information about the position of the mode of an unknown (unimodal) distribution.     

A statistical uncertainty principle for estimating the time of a discrete shift in the mean of a continuous time random process

The purpose of this article is to present a statistical uncertainty principle that can be used when localizing a single change in the mean of a band-limited stationary random process. The statistical model investigated is a continuous time process that experiences a shift in its mean. This continuous time process is presumed to be sampled using an ideal low-pass filter. The least squares estimate of the location of the change in mean is asymptotically Gaussian. The standard deviation of the least squares estimate of the location of the change-point provides a physical limit to the accuracy of the estimate of the time of the mean shift which cannot be bettered.