Skip to main content
Log in

Sobolev-Hermite versus Sobolev nonparametric density estimation on \({\mathbb {R}}\)

  • Published:
Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper, our aim is to revisit the nonparametric estimation of a square integrable density f on \({\mathbb {R}}\), by using projection estimators on a Hermite basis. These estimators are studied from the point of view of their mean integrated squared error on \({\mathbb {R}}\). A model selection method is described and proved to perform an automatic bias variance compromise. Then, we present another collection of estimators, of deconvolution type, for which we define another model selection strategy. Although the minimax asymptotic rates of these two types of estimators are mainly equivalent, the complexity of the Hermite estimators is usually much lower than the complexity of their deconvolution (or kernel) counterparts. These results are illustrated through a small simulation study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abramowitz, M., Stegun, I. A. (1964). Handbook of mathematical functions with formulas, graphs, and mathematical tables. National Bureau of Standards Applied Mathematics Series, 55 for sale by the Superintendent of Documents. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

  • Barron, A., Birgé, L., Massart, P. (1999). Risk bounds for model selection via penalization. Probability Theory and Related Fields, 113, 301–413.

  • Belomestny, D., Comte, F., Genon-Catalot, V., Masuda, H., Reiss, M. (2015). Lévy matters. IV. Estimation for discretely observed Lévy processes. Lecture Notes in Mathematics, 2128. Lévy Matters. Cham: Springer.

  • Belomestny, D., Comte, F., Genon-Catalot, V. (2016). Nonparametric Laguerre estimation in the multiplicative censoring model. Electronic Journal of Statistics, 10, 3114–3152.

  • Bertoin, J. (1996). Lévy processes. Cambridge tracts in mathematics, 121. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.

  • Birgé, L., Massart, P. (2007). Minimal penalties for Gaussian model selection. Probability Theory and Related Fields, 138, 33–73.

  • Bongioanni, B., Torrea, J. L. (2006). Sobolev spaces associated to the harmonic oscillator. Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences: Mathematical Sciences, 116(3), 337–360.

  • Chaleyat-Maurel, M., Genon-Catalot, V. (2006). Computable infinite-dimensional filters with applications to discretized diffusion processes. Stochastic Processes and Their Applications, 116, 1447–1467.

  • Comte, F., Genon-Catalot, V. (2009). Nonparametric estimation for pure jump Lévy processes based on high frequency data. Stochastic Processes and Their Applications, 119, 4088–4123.

  • Comte, F., Genon-Catalot, V. (2015). Adaptive Laguerre density estimation for mixed Poisson models. Electronic Journal of Statistics, 9, 1113–1149.

  • Comte, F., Dedecker, J., Taupin, M. L. (2008). Adaptive density deconvolution with dependent inputs. Mathematical Methods of Statistics, 17, 87–112.

  • Devroye, L., Györfi, L. (1985). Nonparametric density estimation. The L1 view. Wiley series in probability and mathematical statistics: Tracts on probability and statistics. New York: Wiley.

  • Devroye, L., Lugosi, G. (2001). Combinatorial methods in density estimation. Springer series in statistics. New York: Springer.

  • Donoho, D. L., Johnstone, I. M., Kerkyacharian, G., Picard, D. (1996). Density estimation by wavelet thresholding. The Annals of Statistics, 24, 508–539.

  • Efromovich, S. (1999). Nonparametric curve estimation. Methods, theory, and applications. Springer series in statistics. New York: Springer.

  • Efromovich, S. (2008). Adaptive estimation of and oracle inequalities for probability densities and characteristic functions. The Annals of Statististics, 36, 1127–1155.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Efromovich, S. (2009). Lower bound for estimation of Sobolev densities of order less 1/2. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, 139, 2261–2268.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Ibragimov, I. (2001). Estimation of analytic functions. In M. de Gunst, C. Klaasen, A. van der Vaart (Eds.) State of the art in probability and statistics (Leiden, 1999). Institute of mathematical statistics lecture notes—Monograph series 36 (pp. 359–383). Beachwood, OH: Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

  • Ibragimov, I. A., Has’minskii, R. Z. (1980). An estimate of the density of a distribution. Studies in mathematical statistics, IV. Zapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov Leningradskogo Otdeleniya Matematicheskogo Instituta imeni V. A. Steklova Akademii Nauk SSSR (LOMI) 98, 61–85, 161–162 (in Russian).

  • Kim, A. K. H. (2014). Minimax bounds for estimation of normal mixtures. Bernoulli, 20, 1802–1818.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Klein, T., Rio, E. (2005). Concentration around the mean for maxima of empirical processes. The Annals of Probability, 33, 1060–1077.

  • Lebedev, N. N. (1972). Special functions and their applications (Revised edition, translated from the Russian and edited by Richard A. Silverman. Unabridged and corrected republication). New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

  • Mabon, G. (2017). Adaptive deconvolution on the nonnegative real line. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics: Theory and Applications, 44, 707–740.

  • Markett, C. (1984). Norm estimates for \((C,\delta )\) means of Hermite expansions and bounds for \(\delta _{{\rm eff}}\). Acta Mathematica Hungarica, 43, 187–198.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Massart, P. (2007). Concentration inequalities and model selection. Lectures from the 33rd summer school on probability theory held in Saint-Flour, July 6–23, 2003. With a foreword by Jean Picard. Lecture notes in mathematics, 1896. Berlin: Springer.

  • Rigollet, P. (2006). Adaptive density estimation using the blockwise Stein method. Bernoulli, 12, 351–370.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Schipper, M. (1996). Optimal rates and constants in L2-minimax estimation of probability density functions. Mathematical Methods of Statistics, 5, 253–274.

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, S. C. (1967). Estimation of a probability density by an orthogonal series. The Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 38, 1261–1265.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Szegö, G. (1975). Orthogonal polynomials (4th ed.). American Mathematical Society, Colloquium Publications, Vol: XXIII. Providence, RI: American mathematical Society.

  • Tsybakov, A. B. (2009). Introduction to nonparametric estimation. Springer series in statistics. New York: Springer.

  • Walter, G. G. (1977). Properties of Hermite series estimation of probability density. The Annals of Statistics, 5, 1258–1264.

    Article  MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabienne Comte.

Additional information

D.B. acknowledges the financial support from the Russian Academic Excellence Project “5-100” and from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) through the SFB 823 “Statistical modeling of nonlinear dynamic processes”.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Belomestny, D., Comte, F. & Genon-Catalot, V. Sobolev-Hermite versus Sobolev nonparametric density estimation on \({\mathbb {R}}\). Ann Inst Stat Math 71, 29–62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10463-017-0624-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10463-017-0624-y

Keywords

Navigation