2
$\begingroup$

Let $X_1, \cdots X_n \stackrel{\text{iid}}{\sim} N(\alpha \sigma, \sigma^2)$, where $\alpha$ is known, and $\sigma > 0$ is unknown. Show that the family of distributions of $$T(\mathbf{X})=(\sum X_i, \sum X_i^2)$$ is not complete.

My work:

I am getting that this family is complete with the following work.

\begin{align*}E_\sigma[g(T(X))]&=\int_{-\infty}^\infty g(T(x))\frac{1}{\sqrt{2 \pi}\sigma}\exp(\frac{-1}{2\sigma^2}(x-\alpha \sigma)^2)dx\\ &=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}\sigma}\exp(\frac{-\alpha^2}{2})\int_{-\infty}^\infty g(T(x))\exp(\frac{-x^2}{2\sigma^2} + \frac{x\alpha}{\sigma})dx\end{align*}

For this to be $0$, $\int_{-\infty}^\infty g(T(x))dx=0$, since the exponential terms can never be equal to 0. Does this imply that the family of distributions of $T(X_1,\cdots,X_n)$ is complete?

$\endgroup$
9
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ What enabled you to replace "$g(T)$" by "$g(X)$" in the first equation?? Indeed, given that the distribution of $X$ is $n$-variate, how are we to make any sense of "$\mathrm{d}x$"? $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 4:40
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ $T(X)$ explicitly is two dimensional: it has two components. $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 4:52
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ When thinking about this, I found myself looking for simple functions of the components of $T$ that had easy-to-compute expectations. Assuming $\alpha$ known, I was able to find distinct functions of them that had the same expectations no matter what value $\sigma$ might have; and thereby could construct a nontrivial $g$ with zero expectation for all $\sigma.$ $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 5:00
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ I'm afraid both expectations rely on $\sigma:$ it's right there in the formulas. $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 5:13
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Ansqered at stats.stackexchange.com/q/353431/119261 $\endgroup$ Commented Feb 6, 2020 at 6:19

1 Answer 1

2
$\begingroup$

The argument is incorrect: it is not because $$\int_{-\infty}^\infty g(T(x))\exp(\frac{-x^2}{2\sigma^2} + \frac{x\alpha}{\sigma})\text{d}x=0$$that $g\circ T$ is necessarily zero. (The argument does not even use the specific functional form of $T$.) Furthermore, as pointed out by @whuber, the integral in your approach should be on $\mathbb R^n$ rather than $\mathbb R$.

As suggested by @whuber, the standard line of attack is to find a function of $T(X)$ that is independent from $\sigma$. What could help in this regard is to rewrite the observations as $X_i\sim\sigma Y_i$, where $Y_i\sim N(\alpha,1)$, and to notice that $$T(X)\sim(\sigma\sum_i Y_i,\sigma^2\sum_i Y_i^2)$$ to guess a transform of $T(X)$ that does not depend on $\sigma$. (Hint: $\sigma^2=(\sigma)^2$.)

$\endgroup$
13
  • $\begingroup$ I must admit that I do not know how to leverage your hint in finding a transformation of $T(X)$ that does not rely on $\sigma$. I feel like $\frac{T(X)}{\sigma}$ is not correct. Can you not just divide both components by $\sigma$ or $\sigma^2$? $\endgroup$
    – Ron Snow
    Commented Feb 7, 2020 at 1:52
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ The transform of $T(X)$ cannot depend on $\sigma$ because this is not longer a statistic. Have a further look at your course notes and textbook to get a better grasp of the notions of statitics, sufficient statistics, and complete statistics. Check the examples provided in class. $\endgroup$
    – Xi'an
    Commented Feb 7, 2020 at 6:55
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Stronger hint: what ratio involving the components of $T$ will cancel out the powers of $\sigma$? (There are many answers; choose a simple one.) $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 7, 2020 at 18:04
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ It's the right idea, but are you sure about your algebra? $\endgroup$
    – whuber
    Commented Feb 12, 2020 at 3:42
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ The point is to be independent from $\sigma$ not to compute the value. $\endgroup$
    – Xi'an
    Commented Feb 13, 2020 at 5:34

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.