English

A 4/7-limit law for the largest interpoint distance in a rotational ellipsoid

Probability 2026-05-26 v1

Abstract

Let MnM_n denote the largest interpoint distance among independent random points X1,,XnX_1,\dots,X_n uniformly distributed in a compact set in Rd\mathbb{R}^d. Weak limit laws for MnM_n are known in several geometric settings, in particular for ellipsoids with a unique major axis. In this paper we treat the simplest nontrivial case in which the largest semi-axis is not unique, namely the rotational ellipsoid {(x1,x2,x3)R3:(x12+x22)/h2+x32/a21}\{(x_1,x_2,x_3)\in\mathbb{R}^3: (x_1^2+x_2^2)/h^2 + x_3^2/a^2 \le 1\}, where 0<a<h0<a<h. The diameter of this ellipsoid is attained by all antipodal pairs on the equatorial circle, so the extremal points are not isolated. We prove that n4/7(2hMn)n^{4/7}(2h-M_n) converges in distribution to a Weibull-type limit law with explicit parameter. The proof combines geometric localization arguments with a Chen--Stein Poisson approximation for rare nearly diametral pairs.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.2605.24627,
  title  = {A 4/7-limit law for the largest interpoint distance in a rotational ellipsoid},
  author = {Norbert Henze},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.24627},
  year   = {2026}
}

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11 pages