Related papers: Difference prophet inequalities for [0,1]-valued i…

Suppose a customer is faced with a sequence of fluctuating prices, such as for airfare or a product sold by a large online retailer. Given distributional information about what price they might face each day, how should they choose when to…

Let $\xi_1,\xi_2,\ldots$ be independent, identically distributed random variables with infinite mean $\mathbf E[|\xi_1|]=\infty.$ Consider a random walk $S_n=\xi_1+\cdots+\xi_n$, a stopping time $\tau=\min\{n\ge 1: S_n\le 0\}$ and let…

Maximal inequalities refer to bounds on expected values of the supremum of averages of random variables over a collection. They play a crucial role in the study of non-parametric and high-dimensional estimators, and especially in the study…

Let $X_1, \ldots , X_n$ be mutually independent exponential random variables with distinct hazard rates $\lambda_1, \ldots , \lambda_n > 0$ and let $Y_1, \ldots, Y_n$ be a random sample from the exponential distribution with hazard rate…

We consider the set M_n of all n-truncated power moment sequences of probability measures on [0,1]. We endow this set with the uniform probability. Picking randomly a point in M_n, we show that the upper canonical measure associated with…

We study a continuous and infinite time horizon counterpart to the classic prophet inequality, which we term the stationary prophet inequality problem. Here, copies of a good arrive and perish according to Poisson point processes. Buyers…

We consider first passage times $\tau_u = \inf\{n:\; Y_n>u\}$ for the perpetuity sequence $$ Y_n = B_1 + A_1 B_2 + \cdots + (A_1\ldots A_{n-1})B_n, $$ where $(A_n,B_n)$ are i.i.d. random variables with values in ${\mathbb R} ^+\times…

We study some properties of binary sequences generated by random substitutions of constant length. Specifically, assuming the alphabet $\{0,1\}$, we consider the following asymmetric substitution rule of length $k$: $0 \to \langle 0, 0,…

Let $\{U_n\}_{n \geq 0}$ and $\{V_m\}_{m \geq 0}$ be two linear recurrence sequences. We establish an asymptotic formula for the number of integers $c$ in the range $[-x, x]$ which can be represented as differences $ U_n - V_m$. In…

We consider the problem of choosing the best of $n$ samples, out of a large random pool, when the sampling of each member is associated with a certain cost. The quality (worth) of the best sample clearly increases with $n$, but so do the…

Suppose you have one unit of stock, currently worth 1, which you must sell before time $T$. The Optional Sampling Theorem tells us that whatever stopping time we choose to sell, the expected discounted value we get when we sell will be 1.…

Let $X_n,...,X_1$ be i.i.d. random variables with distribution function $F$. A statistician, knowing $F$, observes the $X$ values sequentially and is given two chances to choose $X$'s using stopping rules. The statistician's goal is to stop…

Let $X_1,X_2,\ldots$ be independent identically distributed nonnegative random variables. Wald's identity states that the random sum $S_T:=X_1+\cdots+X_T$ has expectation $E(T)) E(X_1)$ provided $T$ is a stopping time. We prove here that…

Let $(Y,X_1,...,X_m)$ be a random vector. It is desired to predict $Y$ based on $(X_1,...,X_m)$. Examples of prediction methods are regression, classification using logistic regression or separating hyperplanes, and so on. We consider the…

A classical statistical inequality is used to show that the distance covariance of two bounded random vectors is bounded from above by a simple function of the dimensionality and the bounds of the random vectors. Two special cases that…

Suppose that i.i.d. random variables $X_{1}, X_{2}, \ldots$ are chosen uniformly from $[0,1]$, and let $f: [0,1] \rightarrow [0,1]$ be an increasing bijection. Define $\mu_{f}$ to be the expected value of $f(X_{i})$ for each $i$. Define the…

In this paper, we study $k$-unit single sample prophet inequalities. A seller has $k$ identical, indivisible items to sell. A sequence of buyers arrive one-by-one, with each buyer's private value for the item, $X_i$, revealed to the seller…

It is known that there is a constant $c>0$ such that for every sequence $x_1, x_2,\ldots$ in $[0,1)$ we have for the star discrepancy $D^{*}_N$ of the first $N$ elements of the sequence that $N D^{*}_N\geq c\cdot \log N$ holds for…

We present the extensions of the Siegel integral formula ([10]), which counts the vectors of the random lattice, to the context of counting its sublattices and flags. Perhaps surprisingly, it turns out that many quantities of interest…

This paper defines theoretical lower bounds of uncertainty of observations of macroeconomic variables that depend on statistical moments and correlations of random values and volumes of market trades. Any econometric assessments of…