Related papers: Lawrence Lifts, Matroids, and Maximum Likelihood D…
The maximum likelihood threshold (MLT) of a graph $G$ is the minimum number of samples to almost surely guarantee existence of the maximum likelihood estimate in the corresponding Gaussian graphical model. We give a new characterization of…
Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a fundamental problem in statistics. Characteristics of the MLE problem for discrete algebraic statistical models are reflected in the geometry of the $\textit{likelihood correspondence}$, a variety…
We study the critical points of monomial functions over an algebraic subset of the probability simplex. The number of critical points on the Zariski closure is a topological invariant of that embedded projective variety, known as its…
We study maximum likelihood estimation in Gaussian graphical models from a geometric point of view. An algebraic elimination criterion allows us to find exact lower bounds on the number of observations needed to ensure that the maximum…
In this paper, we study the maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of the multivariate and matrix variate symmetric Laplace distributions through group actions. The multivariate and matrix variate symmetric Laplace distributions…
We study nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation for two classes of multivariate distributions that imply strong forms of positive dependence; namely log-supermodular (MTP$_2$) distributions and log-$L^\#$-concave (LLC) distributions.…
As is the case for many curved exponential families, the computation of maximum likelihood estimates in a multivariate normal model with a Kronecker covariance structure is typically carried out with an iterative algorithm, specifically, a…
Let $M$ be a matroid on a finite ground set $E$, and suppose that the automorphism group of $M$ acts transitively on $E$. We show the following: if $X_1,\ldots,X_K$ are sampled independently from a distribution $p$ on $E$, then the…
Ryser's max term rank formula with graph theoretic terminology is equivalent to a characterization of degree sequences of simple bipartite graphs with matching number at least $\ell$. In a previous paper by the authors, a generalization was…
We show that the reciprocal maximal likelihood degree (rmld) of a diagonal linear concentration model $\mathcal L \subseteq \mathbb{C}^n$ of dimension $r$ is equal to $(-2)^r\chi_M( \textstyle\frac{1}{2})$, where $\chi_M$ is the…
We study maximum likelihood estimation for the statistical model for undirected random graphs, known as the $\beta$-model, in which the degree sequences are minimal sufficient statistics. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions, based…
We give an explicit formula for the reciprocal maximum likelihood degree of Brownian motion tree models. To achieve this, we connect them to certain toric (or log-linear) models, and express the Brownian motion tree model of an arbitrary…
This paper considers maximum likelihood (ML) estimation in a large class of models with hidden Markov regimes. We investigate consistency of the ML estimator and local asymptotic normality for the models under general conditions which allow…
We classify the two-way independence quasi-independence models (or independence models with structural zeros) that have rational maximum likelihood estimators, or MLEs. We give a necessary and sufficient condition on the bipartite graph…
We establish connections between: the maximum likelihood degree (ML-degree) for linear concentration models, the algebraic degree of semidefinite programming (SDP), and Schubert calculus for complete quadrics. We prove a conjecture by…
Exponential varieties arise from exponential families in statistics. These real algebraic varieties have strong positivity and convexity properties, familiar from toric varieties and their moment maps. Among them are varieties of inverses…
We explore the maximum likelihood degree of a homogeneous polynomial $F$ on a projective variety $X$, $\mathrm{MLD}_F(X)$, which generalizes the concept of Gaussian maximum likelihood degree. We show that $\mathrm{MLD}_F(X)$ is equal to the…
New criteria are shown that certain combinations of finite unimodal polynomials are unimodal. %Given unimodal polynomials with explicit expressions and dependent recursion relations, we propose an approach to determine their modes. As…
We explore the rigidity of generic frameworks in 3-dimensions whose underlying graph is close to being planar. Specifically we consider apex graphs, edge-apex graphs and their variants and prove independence results in the generic…
We study the maximum likelihood degree of linear concentration models in algebraic statistics. We relate the geometry of the reciprocal variety to that of semidefinite programming. We show that the Zariski closure in the Grassmanian of the…