Date: 2022-11-04

Time: 15:30-16:30 (Montreal time)

https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/83436686293?pwd=b0RmWmlXRXE3OWR6NlNIcWF5d0dJQT09

Meeting ID: 834 3668 6293

Passcode: 12345

Abstract:

Graphical models can represent multivariate distributions in an intuitive way and, hence, facilitate statistical analysis of high-dimensional data. Such models are usually modular so that high-dimensional distributions can be described and handled by careful combination of lower dimensional factors. Furthermore, graphs are natural data structures for algorithmic treatment. Moreover, graphical models can allow for causal interpretation, often provided through a recursive system on a directed acyclic graph (DAG) and the max-linear Bayesian network we introduced in [1] is a specific example. This talk contributes to the recently emerged topic of graphical models for extremes, in particular to max-linear Bayesian networks, which are max-linear graphical models on DAGs. Generalized MLEs are derived in [2]. In this context, the Latent River Problem has emerged as a flagship problem for causal discovery in extreme value statistics. In [3] we provide a simple and efficient algorithm QTree to solve the Latent River Problem. QTree returns a directed graph and achieves almost perfect recovery on the Upper Danube, the existing benchmark dataset, as well as on new data from the Lower Colorado River in Texas. It can handle missing data, and has an automated parameter tuning procedure. In our paper, we also show that, under a max-linear Bayesian network model for extreme values with propagating noise, the QTree algorithm returns asymptotically a.s. the correct tree. Here we use the fact that the non-noisy model has a left-sided atom for every bivariate marginal distribution, when there is a directed edge between the the nodes.

References:

[1] Gissibl, N. and Klüppelberg, C. (2018) Max-linear models on directed acyclic graphs. Bernoulli 24(4A), 2693-2720.

[2] Gissibl, N. , Klüppelberg, C. and Lauritzen, S. (2021) Identifiability and estimation of recursive max-linear models. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 48(1), 188-211.

[3] Ngoc, M.T., Buck, J., and Klüppelberg, C. (2021) Estimating a latent tree for extremes. Submitted, arXiv:2102.06197.

Speaker

Claudia Klüppelberg is a German mathematical statistician and applied probability theorist, known for her work in risk assessment and statistical finance. She is a professor emerita of mathematical statistics at the Technical University of Munich. Klüppelberg was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Bavarian state order Pro meritis scientiae et litterarum in 2001. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and was a Medallion Lecturer of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics in 2009.

McGill Statistics Seminar schedule: https://mcgillstat.github.io/