Central limit theoremIn probability theory, the central limit theorem (CLT) establishes that, in many situations, for independent and identically distributed random variables, the sampling distribution of the standardized sample mean tends towards the standard normal distribution even if the original variables themselves are not normally distributed. The theorem is a key concept in probability theory because it implies that probabilistic and statistical methods that work for normal distributions can be applicable to many problems involving other types of distributions.
Hardware random number generatorIn computing, a hardware random number generator (HRNG), true random number generator (TRNG) or non-deterministic random bit generator (NRBG) is a device that generates random numbers from a physical process capable of producing entropy (in other words, the device always has access to a physical entropy source), rather than by means of an algorithm. Such devices are often based on microscopic phenomena that generate low-level, statistically random "noise" signals, such as thermal noise, the photoelectric effect, involving a beam splitter, and other quantum phenomena.
Random variateIn probability and statistics, a random variate or simply variate is a particular outcome of a random variable; the random variates which are other outcomes of the same random variable might have different values (random numbers). A random deviate or simply deviate is the difference of a random variate with respect to the distribution central location (e.g., mean), often divided by the standard deviation of the distribution (i.e., as a standard score). Random variates are used when simulating processes driven by random influences (stochastic processes).
Probability-generating functionIn probability theory, the probability generating function of a discrete random variable is a power series representation (the generating function) of the probability mass function of the random variable. Probability generating functions are often employed for their succinct description of the sequence of probabilities Pr(X = i) in the probability mass function for a random variable X, and to make available the well-developed theory of power series with non-negative coefficients.
Characteristic function (probability theory)In probability theory and statistics, the characteristic function of any real-valued random variable completely defines its probability distribution. If a random variable admits a probability density function, then the characteristic function is the Fourier transform of the probability density function. Thus it provides an alternative route to analytical results compared with working directly with probability density functions or cumulative distribution functions.
Generalized logistic distributionThe term generalized logistic distribution is used as the name for several different families of probability distributions. For example, Johnson et al. list four forms, which are listed below. Type I has also been called the skew-logistic distribution. Type IV subsumes the other types and is obtained when applying the logit transform to beta random variates. Following the same convention as for the log-normal distribution, type IV may be referred to as the logistic-beta distribution, with reference to the standard logistic function, which is the inverse of the logit transform.
Negative binomial distributionIn probability theory and statistics, the negative binomial distribution is a discrete probability distribution that models the number of failures in a sequence of independent and identically distributed Bernoulli trials before a specified (non-random) number of successes (denoted ) occurs. For example, we can define rolling a 6 on a dice as a success, and rolling any other number as a failure, and ask how many failure rolls will occur before we see the third success ().
Triangular distributionIn probability theory and statistics, the triangular distribution is a continuous probability distribution with lower limit a, upper limit b and mode c, where a < b and a ≤ c ≤ b. The distribution simplifies when c = a or c = b. For example, if a = 0, b = 1 and c = 1, then the PDF and CDF become: This distribution for a = 0, b = 1 and c = 0 is the distribution of X = |X1 − X2|, where X1, X2 are two independent random variables with standard uniform distribution. The symmetric case arises when c = (a + b) / 2.
Rejection samplingIn numerical analysis and computational statistics, rejection sampling is a basic technique used to generate observations from a distribution. It is also commonly called the acceptance-rejection method or "accept-reject algorithm" and is a type of exact simulation method. The method works for any distribution in with a density. Rejection sampling is based on the observation that to sample a random variable in one dimension, one can perform a uniformly random sampling of the two-dimensional Cartesian graph, and keep the samples in the region under the graph of its density function.
Generalized inverse Gaussian distributionIn probability theory and statistics, the generalized inverse Gaussian distribution (GIG) is a three-parameter family of continuous probability distributions with probability density function where Kp is a modified Bessel function of the second kind, a > 0, b > 0 and p a real parameter. It is used extensively in geostatistics, statistical linguistics, finance, etc. This distribution was first proposed by Étienne Halphen. It was rediscovered and popularised by Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, who called it the generalized inverse Gaussian distribution.
Monte Carlo methodMonte Carlo methods, or Monte Carlo experiments, are a broad class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to obtain numerical results. The underlying concept is to use randomness to solve problems that might be deterministic in principle. They are often used in physical and mathematical problems and are most useful when it is difficult or impossible to use other approaches. Monte Carlo methods are mainly used in three problem classes: optimization, numerical integration, and generating draws from a probability distribution.
Inverse transform samplingInverse transform sampling (also known as inversion sampling, the inverse probability integral transform, the inverse transformation method, Smirnov transform, or the golden rule) is a basic method for pseudo-random number sampling, i.e., for generating sample numbers at random from any probability distribution given its cumulative distribution function. Inverse transformation sampling takes uniform samples of a number between 0 and 1, interpreted as a probability, and then returns the smallest number such that for the cumulative distribution function of a random variable.
