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Generating random numbers from a distribution specified by its Laplace transform

Ridout, Martin S. (2009) Generating random numbers from a distribution specified by its Laplace transform. Statistics and Computing, 19 (4). pp. 439-450. ISSN 0960-3174. (doi:10.1007/s11222-008-9103-x) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:24236)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11222-008-9103-x

Abstract

This paper discusses simulation from an absolutely continuous distribution on the positive real line when the Laplace transform of the distribution is known but its density and distribution functions may not be available. We advocate simulation by the inversion method using a modified Newton-Raphson method, with values of the distribution and density functions obtained by numerical transform inversion. We show that this algorithm performs well in a series of increasingly complex examples. Caution is needed in some situations when the numerical Laplace transform inversion becomes unreliable. In particular the algorithm should not be used for distributions with finite range. But otherwise, except for rather pathological distributions, the approach offers a rapid way of generating random samples with minimal user effort. We contrast our approach with an alternative algorithm due to Devroye (Comput. Math. Appl. 7, 547–552, 1981).

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s11222-008-9103-x
Subjects: Q Science > QA Mathematics (inc Computing science) > QA276 Mathematical statistics
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science
Depositing User: Martin Ridout
Date Deposited: 29 Jun 2011 13:53 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:02 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/24236 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Ridout, Martin S..

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