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Optimal sub-Gaussian variance proxy for 3-mass distributions

Statistics Theory 2025-10-08 v1 Statistics Theory

Abstract

We investigate the problem of characterizing the optimal variance proxy for sub-Gaussian random variables,whose moment-generating function exhibits bounded growth at infinity. We apply a general characterization method to discrete random variables with equally spaced atoms. We thoroughly study 3-mass distributions, thereby generalizing the well-studied Bernoulli case. We also prove that the discrete uniform distribution over NN points is strictly sub-Gaussian. Finally, we provide an open-source Python package that combines analytical and numerical approaches to compute optimal sub-Gaussian variance proxies across a wide range of distributions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2510.06132,
  title  = {Optimal sub-Gaussian variance proxy for 3-mass distributions},
  author = {Soufiane Atouani and Olivier Marchal and Julyan Arbel},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.06132},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T06:21:55.683Z