Noncentral beta distribution

Summary

In probability theory and statistics, the noncentral beta distribution is a continuous probability distribution that is a noncentral generalization of the (central) beta distribution.

Noncentral Beta
Notation Beta(α, β, λ)
Parameters α > 0 shape (real)
β > 0 shape (real)
λ ≥ 0 noncentrality (real)
Support
PDF (type I)
CDF (type I)
Mean (type I) (see Confluent hypergeometric function)
Variance (type I) where is the mean. (see Confluent hypergeometric function)

The noncentral beta distribution (Type I) is the distribution of the ratio

where is a noncentral chi-squared random variable with degrees of freedom m and noncentrality parameter , and is a central chi-squared random variable with degrees of freedom n, independent of .[1] In this case,

A Type II noncentral beta distribution is the distribution of the ratio

where the noncentral chi-squared variable is in the denominator only.[1] If follows the type II distribution, then follows a type I distribution.

Cumulative distribution function edit

The Type I cumulative distribution function is usually represented as a Poisson mixture of central beta random variables:[1]

 

where λ is the noncentrality parameter, P(.) is the Poisson(λ/2) probability mass function, \alpha=m/2 and \beta=n/2 are shape parameters, and   is the incomplete beta function. That is,

 

The Type II cumulative distribution function in mixture form is

 

Algorithms for evaluating the noncentral beta distribution functions are given by Posten[2] and Chattamvelli.[1]

Probability density function edit

The (Type I) probability density function for the noncentral beta distribution is:

 

where   is the beta function,   and   are the shape parameters, and   is the noncentrality parameter. The density of Y is the same as that of 1-X with the degrees of freedom reversed.[1]

Related distributions edit

Transformations edit

If  , then   follows a noncentral F-distribution with   degrees of freedom, and non-centrality parameter  .

If   follows a noncentral F-distribution   with   numerator degrees of freedom and   denominator degrees of freedom, then

 

follows a noncentral Beta distribution:

 .

This is derived from making a straightforward transformation.

Special cases edit

When  , the noncentral beta distribution is equivalent to the (central) beta distribution.

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Chattamvelli, R. (1995). "A Note on the Noncentral Beta Distribution Function". The American Statistician. 49 (2): 231–234. doi:10.1080/00031305.1995.10476151.
  2. ^ Posten, H.O. (1993). "An Effective Algorithm for the Noncentral Beta Distribution Function". The American Statistician. 47 (2): 129–131. doi:10.1080/00031305.1993.10475957. JSTOR 2685195.

Sources edit

  • M. Abramowitz and I. Stegun, editors (1965) "Handbook of Mathematical Functions", Dover: New York, NY.
  • Hodges, J.L. Jr (1955). "On the noncentral beta-distribution". Annals of Mathematical Statistics. 26 (4): 648–653. doi:10.1214/aoms/1177728424.
  • Seber, G.A.F. (1963). "The non-central chi-squared and beta distributions". Biometrika. 50 (3–4): 542–544. doi:10.1093/biomet/50.3-4.542.
  • Christian Walck, "Hand-book on Statistical Distributions for experimentalists."