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On the Hausdorff distance between a convex set and an interior random convex hull

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2016

H. Bräker*
Affiliation:
University of Bern
T. Hsing*
Affiliation:
Singapore National University
N. H. Bingham*
Affiliation:
Birkbeck College (Univ. London)
*
Postal address: University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
∗∗ Postal address: Singapore National University, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260K.
∗∗∗ Birkbeck College (Univ. London), London WC1E 7HX, UK. Email address: n.bingham@statistics.bbk.ac.uk

Abstract

The problem of estimating an unknown compact convex set K in the plane, from a sample (X1,···,Xn) of points independently and uniformly distributed over K, is considered. Let Kn be the convex hull of the sample, Δ be the Hausdorff distance, and Δn := Δ (K, Kn). Under mild conditions, limit laws for Δn are obtained. We find sequences (an), (bn) such that

n - bn)/an → Λ (n → ∞), where Λ is the Gumbel (double-exponential) law from extreme-value theory. As expected, the directions of maximum curvature play a decisive role. Our results apply, for instance, to discs and to the interiors of ellipses, although for eccentricity e < 1 the first case cannot be obtained from the second by continuity. The polygonal case is also considered.

Type
Stochastic Geometry and Statistical Applications
Copyright
Copyright © Applied Probability Trust 1998 

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