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For a sample of n values, a method of moments estimator of the population excess kurtosis can be defined as = = = (¯) [= (¯)] where m 4 is the fourth sample moment about the mean, m 2 is the second sample moment about the mean (that is, the sample variance), x i is the i th value, and ¯ is the sample mean.
The fourth central moment is a measure of the heaviness of the tail of the distribution. Since it is the expectation of a fourth power, the fourth central moment, where defined, is always nonnegative; and except for a point distribution, it is always strictly positive. The fourth central moment of a normal distribution is 3σ 4.
The first central moment μ 1 is 0 (not to be confused with the first raw moment or the expected value μ). The second central moment μ 2 is called the variance, and is usually denoted σ 2, where σ represents the standard deviation. The third and fourth central moments are used to define the standardized moments which are used to define ...
In probability theory and statistics, a standardized moment of a probability distribution is a moment (often a higher degree central moment) that is normalized, typically by a power of the standard deviation, rendering the moment scale invariant. The shape of different probability distributions can be compared using standardized moments. [1]
An example application of the method of moments is to estimate polynomial probability density distributions. In this case, an approximating polynomial of order is defined on an interval [,]. The method of moments then yields a system of equations, whose solution involves the inversion of a Hankel matrix. [2]
In probability theory and statistics, the moment-generating function of a real-valued random variable is an alternative specification of its probability distribution. Thus, it provides the basis of an alternative route to analytical results compared with working directly with probability density functions or cumulative distribution functions .
Comparison of probability density functions, () for the sum of fair 6-sided dice to show their convergence to a normal distribution with increasing , in accordance to the central limit theorem. In the bottom-right graph, smoothed profiles of the previous graphs are rescaled, superimposed and compared with a normal distribution (black curve).
Any two probability distributions whose moments are identical will have identical cumulants as well, and vice versa. The first cumulant is the mean, the second cumulant is the variance, and the third cumulant is the same as the third central moment. But fourth and higher-order cumulants are not equal to central moments.