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Properties and maximum likelihood estimation of the gamma-normal and related probability distributions
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Properties and maximum likelihood estimation of the gamma-normal and related probability distributions

Massimiliano Bonamente and Dale Zimmerman
arXiv.org
Cornell University
02/16/2024
DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2402.11088
url
https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2402.11088View
Preprint (Author's original)This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

This paper presents likelihood-based inference methods for the family of univariate gamma-normal distributions GN({\alpha}, r, {\mu}, {\sigma}^2 ) that result from summing independent gamma({\alpha}, r) and N({\mu}, {\sigma}^2 ) random variables. First, the probability density function of a gamma-normal variable is provided in compact form with the use of parabolic cylinder functions, along with key properties. We then provide analytic expressions for the maximum-likelihood score equations and the Fisher information matrix, and discuss inferential methods for the gamma-normal distribution. Given the widespread use of the two constituting distributions, the gamma-normal distribution is a general purpose tool for a variety of applications. In particular, we discuss two distributions that are obtained as special cases and that are featured in a variety of statistical applications: the exponential-normal distribution and the chi-squared-normal (or overdispersed chi-squared) distribution.
Statistics - Applications

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