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5 - Continuous Distributions

from Part I - Elements of Probability Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 July 2022

Ery Arias-Castro
Affiliation:
University of California, San Diego
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Summary

In some areas of mathematics, physics, and elsewhere, continuous objects and structures are often motivated, or even defined, as limits of discrete objects. For example, in mathematics, the real numbers are defined as the limit of sequences of rational numbers, and in physics, the laws of thermodynamics arise as the number of particles in a system tends to infinity (the so-called thermodynamic or macroscopic limit). Taking certain discrete distributions (discussed in the previous chapter) to their continuous limits, which is done by letting their support size increase to infinity in a controlled manner, gives rise to continuous distributions on the real line. We introduce and discuss such distributions in this chapter, including the normal (aka Gaussian) family of distributions, and in the process cover probability densities.

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Principles of Statistical Analysis
Learning from Randomized Experiments
, pp. 54 - 67
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Continuous Distributions
  • Ery Arias-Castro, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Principles of Statistical Analysis
  • Online publication: 22 July 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779197.008
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  • Continuous Distributions
  • Ery Arias-Castro, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Principles of Statistical Analysis
  • Online publication: 22 July 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779197.008
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Continuous Distributions
  • Ery Arias-Castro, University of California, San Diego
  • Book: Principles of Statistical Analysis
  • Online publication: 22 July 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108779197.008
Available formats
×