12 Transformation of RVs 1-dim

1 Introduction

Consider a probability space (Ω,F,P). A RV X:Ω→RX⊂Rn and a T:RX→RY⊂Rm. We can compound them to T(X):Ω→RY.
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Technical detail: T needs to be a measurable function.

So we have measurable spaces (RX,ΣX),(RY,ΣY) (Σ is the σ -algebra)
For all A∈ΣY, require T−1(A)∈ΣX. Here T−1(A) is the preimage of A.

We want to know what the distribution of Y=T(X) is.

Change of Variable Principle:
For a given T, the distribution of T(X) is determined by the distribution of X.
For A⊂RY (technically A∈ΣY), P(T(X)∈A)=P({ω∈Ω|T(X(ω))∈A})=P({ω∈Ω|X(ω)∈T−1(A)})(1.1)=P(X∈T−1(A)).

For continuous RV, it is always P(Y=y)=0.

2 Invertible Transformation

In general, if T is invertible and T−1 is differentiable, the p.d.f of Y=T(X) is given by (1.2)fY(y)=fX(T−1(y))|dT−1(y)dy|.

3 Many-to-One Transformation

Now we see a case of non-invertible function.

Many-to-One Transformation

Suppose T−1(y) of each y∈RY consists of a finite or countably infinite set of points {Ti−1(y)}, where Ti are differentiable. Then fY(y)=∑ifX(Ti−1(y))|dTi−1(y)dy|.

4 Quantile Transformation

We know c.d.f FX(x)=P(X≤x). For u∈(0,1), the u− quantile qX(u)∈R of FX is defined to satisfy FX(qX(u))=u, provided that it exists.
However, in many cases it does not exist. For example, X∼Bernoulli(p), qX(1−p) is not unique, and qX(u) does not exist for 0<u<1−p.
To address these issues, define

Quantile Function

For u∈(0,1), define quantile function qX(u)=inf{x∈R|FX(x)≥u}.

For X∼Bernoulli(p), qX(u)={0,0<u≤1−p,1,1−p<u<1.


Inverse Transform Sampling

Let U∼Uniform(0,1).

  1. X either discrete or continuous, then qX(U)=dX.
  2. FX continuous, then FX(X)=dX.