Moment Generating Functions and Probability Density Functions

arunma
Messages
924
Reaction score
4
I was reading that moment generating functions have the property of uniqueness. So just wondering: is there a way to get a probability density function from a moment generating function?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The Fourier transform of the density function (called the characterictic function) can be obtained from the moments. The inverse transform of the ch. func. will give you the density function back. For distribution functions without a density, it is a little more complicated.
 
note: If the mgf exists in a neighborhood around 0 then the characteristic function = mgf(i*t)
 
Fourier Transforms of sinh

Hello:

I am referring to 'Table of Laplace Transforms' by Roberts&Kaufman. But I cannot seem to get a soln for the following Fourier Transform to retrieve my probability density f(x)

c2 * Integral{e^(iwx) * sinh[sqrt(2w)c1] / sinh[sqrt(2w)pi] dw} = f(x)

where -pi< c1 <=0 and c2 is a constant that scales the integral appropriately so that f(x) is p.d.f. Thanks for your help!
 
arunma said:
I was reading that moment generating functions have the property of uniqueness. So just wondering: is there a way to get a probability density function from a moment generating function?

In general, moment generating functions DO NOT have the property of uniqueness. C.F. s are unique.
 
Last edited:
Namaste & G'day Postulate: A strongly-knit team wins on average over a less knit one Fundamentals: - Two teams face off with 4 players each - A polo team consists of players that each have assigned to them a measure of their ability (called a "Handicap" - 10 is highest, -2 lowest) I attempted to measure close-knitness of a team in terms of standard deviation (SD) of handicaps of the players. Failure: It turns out that, more often than, a team with a higher SD wins. In my language, that...
Hi all, I've been a roulette player for more than 10 years (although I took time off here and there) and it's only now that I'm trying to understand the physics of the game. Basically my strategy in roulette is to divide the wheel roughly into two halves (let's call them A and B). My theory is that in roulette there will invariably be variance. In other words, if A comes up 5 times in a row, B will be due to come up soon. However I have been proven wrong many times, and I have seen some...
Back
Top