Selected Works in Probability and Statistics – serie

For almost fifty years, Richard M. Dudley has been extremely influential in the development of several areas of Probability. His work on Gaussian processes led to the understanding of the basic fact that their sample boundedness and continuity should be characterized in terms of proper measures of complexity of their parameter spaces equipped with the intrinsic covariance metric. His sufficient condition for sample continuity in terms of metric entropy is widely used and was proved by X. Fernique to be necessary for stationary Gaussian processes, whereas its more subtle versions (majorizing measures) were proved by M. Talagrand to be necessary in general. Together with V. N. Vapnik and A. Y. Cervonenkis, R. M. Dudley is a founder of the modern theory of empirical processes in general spaces. His work on uniform central limit theorems (under bracketing entropy conditions and for Vapnik-Cervonenkis classes), greatly extends classical results that go back to A. N. Kolmogorov and M. D. Donsker, and became the starting point of a new line of research, continued in the work of Dudley and others, that developed empirical processes into one of the major tools in mathematical statistics and statistical learning theory. As a consequence of Dudley's early work on weak convergence of probability measures on non-separable metric spaces, the Skorohod topology on the space of regulated right-continuous functions can be replaced, in the study of weak convergence of the empirical distribution function, by the supremum norm. In a further recent step Dudley replaces this norm by the stronger p-variation norms, which then allows replacing compact differentiability of many statistical functionals by Fréchet differentiability in the delta method.Richard M. Dudley has also made important contributions to mathematical statistics, the theory of weak convergence, relativistic Markov processes, differentiability of nonlinear operators and several other areas ofmathematics. Professor Dudley has been the adviser to thirty PhD's and is a Professor of Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1945, very early in the history of the development of a rigorous analytical theory of probability, Feller (1945) wrote a paper called “The fundamental limit theorems in probability” in which he set out what he considered to be “the two most important limit theorems in the modern theory of probability: the central limit theorem and the recently discovered … ‘Kolmogoroff’s cel­ ebrated law of the iterated logarithm’ ”. A little later in the article he added to these, via a charming description, the “little brother (of the central limit theo­ rem), the weak law of large numbers”, and also the strong law of large num­ bers, which he considers as a close relative of the law of the iterated logarithm. Feller might well have added to these also the beautiful and highly applicable results of renewal theory, which at the time he himself together with eminent colleagues were vigorously producing. Feller’s introductory remarks include the visionary: “The history of probability shows that our problems must be treated in their greatest generality: only in this way can we hope to discover the most natural tools and to open channels for new progress. This remark leads naturally to that characteristic of our theory which makes it attractive beyond its importance for various applications: a combination of an amazing generality with algebraic precision.

This book contains a little more than 20 of Debabrata Basu's  most significant articles and writings. Debabrata Basu is internationally  known for his highly influential and fundamental contributions  to the foundations of statistics, survey sampling, sufficiency,  and invariance. The major theorem bearing his name has had numerous  applications to statistics and probability. The articles in this volume  are reprints of the original articles, in a chronological order. The  book also contains eleven commentaries written by some of the most  distinguished scholars in the area of foundations and statistical  inference. These commentaries are by George Casella and V. Gopal,  Phil Dawid, Tom DiCiccio and Alastair Young, Malay Ghosh, Jay kadane,  Glen Meeden, Robert Serfling, Jayaram Sethuraman, Terry Speed, and  Alan Welsh.

This book chronicles Donald Burkholder's thirty-five year study of martingales and its consequences. Here are some of the highlights.Pioneering work by Burkholder and Donald Austin on the discrete time martingale square function led to Burkholder and Richard Gundy's proof of inequalities comparing the quadratic variations and maximal functions of continuous martingales, inequalities which are now indispensable tools for stochastic analysis. Part of their proof showed how novel distributional inequalities between the maximal function and quadratic variation lead to inequalities for certain integrals of functions of these operators. The argument used in their proof applies widely and is now called the Burkholder-Gundy good lambda method. This uncomplicated and yet extremely elegant technique, which does not involve randomness, has become important in many parts of mathematics.The continuous martingale inequalities were then used by Burkholder, Gundy, and Silverstein to prove the converse of an old and celebrated theorem of Hardy and Littlewood. This paper transformed the theory of Hardy spaces of analytic functions in the unit disc and extended and completed classical results of Marcinkiewicz concerning norms of conjugate functions and Hilbert transforms. While some connections between probability and analytic and harmonic functions had previously been known, this single paper persuaded many analysts to learn probability.These papers together with Burkholder's study of martingale transforms led to major advances in Banach spaces. A simple geometric condition given by Burkholder was shown by Burkholder, Terry McConnell, and Jean Bourgain to characterize those Banach spaces for which the analog of the Hilbert transform retains important properties of the classical Hilbert transform.Techniques involved in Burkholder's usually successful pursuit of best constants in martingale inequalities have become central to extensive recent research into two well- known open problems, one involving the two dimensional Hilbert transform and its connection to quasiconformal mappings and the other a conjecture in the calculus of variations concerning rank-one convex and quasiconvex functions.This book includes reprints of many of Burkholder's papers, together with two commentaries on his work and its continuing impact.

During the second half of the 20th century, Murray Rosenblatt was one of the most celebrated and leading figures in probability and statistics.  Among his many contributions, Rosenblatt conducted seminal work on density estimation, central limit theorems under strong mixing conditions, spectral domain methodology, long memory processes and Markov processes. He has published over 130 papers and 5 books, many as relevant today as when they first appeared decades ago. Murray Rosenblatt was one of the founding members of the Department of Mathematics at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) and served as advisor to over twenty PhD students. He maintains a close association with UCSD in his role as Professor Emeritus. This volume is a celebration of Murray Rosenblatt's stellar research career that spans over six decades, and includes some of his most interesting and influential papers. Several leading experts provide commentary and reflections on various directions of Murray's research portfolio.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of the late Oded Schramm (1961-2008), distinguished mathematician. Throughout his career, Schramm made profound and beautiful contributions to mathematics that will have a lasting influence.In these two volumes, Editors Itai Benjamini and Olle Häggström have collected some of his papers, supplemented with three survey papers by Steffen Rohde, Häggström and Cristophe Garban that further elucidate his work. The papers within are a representative collection that shows the breadth, depth, enthusiasm and clarity of his work, with sections on Geometry, Noise Sensitivity, Random Walks and Graph Limits, Percolation, and finally Schramm-Loewner Evolution. An introduction by the Editors and a comprehensive bibliography of Schramm's publications complete the volume. The book will be of especial interest to researchers in probability and geometry, and in the history of these subjects.

With this collections volume, some of the important works of Willem van Zwet are moved to the front layers of modern statistics. The selection was based on discussions with Willem, and aims at a representative sample. The result is a collection of papers that the new generations of statisticians should not be denied. They are here to stay, to enjoy and to form the basis for further research.The papers are grouped into six themes: fundamental statistics, asymptotic theory, second-order approximations, resampling, applications, and probability. This volume serves as basic reference for fundamental statistical theory, and at the same time reveals some of its history.The papers are grouped into six themes: fundamental statistics, asymptotic theory, second-order approximations, resampling, applications, and probability. This volume serves as basic reference for fundamental statistical theory, and at the same time reveals some of its history.

This volume contains 30 of David Brillinger's most influential papers. He is an eminent statistical scientist, having published broadly in time series and point process analysis, seismology, neurophysiology, and population biology. Each of these areas are well represented in the book. The volume has been divided into four parts, each with comments by one of Dr. Brillinger's former PhD students. His more theoretical papers have comments by Victor Panaretos from Switzerland. The area of time series has commentary by Pedro Morettin from Brazil. The biologically oriented papers are commented by Tore Schweder from Norway and Haiganoush Preisler from USA, while the point process papers have comments by Peter Guttorp from USA. In addition, the volume contains a Statistical Science interview with Dr. Brillinger, and his bibliography.

The purpose of this volume is to provide an overview of Terry Speed’s contributions to statistics and beyond. Each of the fifteen chapters concerns a particular area of research and consists of a commentary by a subject-matter expert and selection of representative papers. The chapters, organized more or less chronologically in terms of Terry’s career, encompass a wide variety of mathematical and statistical domains, along with their application to biology and medicine. Accordingly, earlier chapters tend to be more theoretical, covering some algebra and probability theory, while later chapters concern more recent work in genetics and genomics. The chapters also span continents and generations, as they present research done over four decades, while crisscrossing the globe.The commentaries provide insight into Terry’s contributions to a particular area of research, by summarizing his work and describing its historical and scientific context, motivation, and impact. In addition to shedding light on Terry’s scientific achievements, the commentaries reveal endearing aspects of his personality, such as his intellectual curiosity, energy, humor, and generosity.

These volumes present a selection of Erich L. Lehmann’s monumental contributions to Statistics. These works are multifaceted. His early work included fundamental contributions to hypothesis testing, theory of point estimation, and more generally to decision theory. His work in Nonparametric Statistics was groundbreaking. His fundamental contributions in this area include results that came to assuage the anxiety of statisticians that were skeptical of nonparametric methodologies, and his work on concepts of dependence has created a large literature.The two volumes are divided into chapters of related works. Invited contributors have critiqued the papers in each chapter, and the reprinted group of papers follows each commentary. A complete bibliography that contains links to recorded talks by Erich Lehmann – and which are freely accessible to the public – and a list of Ph.D. students are also included. These volumes belong in every statistician’s personal collection and are a required holding for any institutional library.

This volume presents selections of Peter J. Bickel’s major papers, along with comments on their novelty and impact on the subsequent development of statistics as a discipline. Each of the eight parts concerns a particular area of research and provides new commentary by experts in the area. The parts range from Rank-Based Nonparametrics to Function Estimation and Bootstrap Resampling. Peter’s amazing career encompasses the majority of statistical developments in the last half-century or about about half of the entire history of the systematic development of statistics. This volume shares insights on these exciting statistical developments with future generations of statisticians. The compilation of supporting material about Peter’s life and work help readers understand the environment under which his research was conducted. The material will also inspire readers in their own research-based pursuits. This volume includes new photos of Peter Bickel, his biography, publication list, and a list of his students. These give the reader a more complete picture of Peter Bickel as a teacher, a friend, a colleague, and a family man.

This volume presents selections of Peter J. Bickel’s major papers, along with comments on their novelty and impact on the subsequent development of statistics as a discipline. Each of the eight parts concerns a particular area of research and provides new commentary by experts in the area. The parts range from Rank-Based Nonparametrics to Function Estimation and Bootstrap Resampling. Peter’s amazing career encompasses the majority of statistical developments in the last half-century or about about half of the entire history of the systematic development of statistics. This volume shares insights on these exciting statistical developments with future generations of statisticians. The compilation of supporting material about Peter’s life and work help readers understand the environment under which his research was conducted. The material will also inspire readers in their own research-based pursuits. This volume includes new photos of Peter Bickel, his biography, publication list, and a list of his students. These give the reader a more complete picture of Peter Bickel as a teacher, a friend, a colleague, and a family man.

During the second half of the 20th century, Murray Rosenblatt was one of the most celebrated and leading figures in probability and statistics. This volume is a celebration of Murray Rosenblatt's stellar research career that spans over six decades, and includes some of his most interesting and influential papers.

This volume is dedicated to the memory of the late Oded Schramm (1961-2008), distinguished mathematician. Throughout his career, Schramm made profound and beautiful contributions to mathematics that will have a lasting influence.In these two volumes, Editors Itai Benjamini and Olle Häggström have collected some of his papers, supplemented with three survey papers by Steffen Rohde, Häggström and Cristophe Garban that further elucidate his work. The papers within are a representative collection that shows the breadth, depth, enthusiasm and clarity of his work, with sections on Geometry, Noise Sensitivity, Random Walks and Graph Limits, Percolation, and finally Schramm-Loewner Evolution. An introduction by the Editors and a comprehensive bibliography of Schramm's publications complete the volume. The book will be of especial interest to researchers in probability and geometry, and in the history of these subjects.

As a consequence of Dudley's early work on weak convergence of probability measures on non-separable metric spaces, the Skorohod topology on the space of regulated right-continuous functions can be replaced, in the study of weak convergence of the empirical distribution function, by the supremum norm.

In 1945, very early in the history of the development of a rigorous analytical theory of probability, Feller (1945) wrote a paper called “The fundamental limit theorems in probability” in which he set out what he considered to be “the two most important limit theorems in the modern theory of probability: the central limit theorem and the recently discovered … ‘Kolmogoroff’s cel­ ebrated law of the iterated logarithm’ ”. A little later in the article he added to these, via a charming description, the “little brother (of the central limit theo­ rem), the weak law of large numbers”, and also the strong law of large num­ bers, which he considers as a close relative of the law of the iterated logarithm. Feller might well have added to these also the beautiful and highly applicable results of renewal theory, which at the time he himself together with eminent colleagues were vigorously producing. Feller’s introductory remarks include the visionary: “The history of probability shows that our problems must be treated in their greatest generality: only in this way can we hope to discover the most natural tools and to open channels for new progress. This remark leads naturally to that characteristic of our theory which makes it attractive beyond its importance for various applications: a combination of an amazing generality with algebraic precision.

This book chronicles Donald Burkholder's thirty-five year study of martingales and its consequences. Here are some of the highlights.Pioneering work by Burkholder and Donald Austin on the discrete time martingale square function led to Burkholder and Richard Gundy's proof of inequalities comparing the quadratic variations and maximal functions of continuous martingales, inequalities which are now indispensable tools for stochastic analysis. Part of their proof showed how novel distributional inequalities between the maximal function and quadratic variation lead to inequalities for certain integrals of functions of these operators. The argument used in their proof applies widely and is now called the Burkholder-Gundy good lambda method. This uncomplicated and yet extremely elegant technique, which does not involve randomness, has become important in many parts of mathematics.The continuous martingale inequalities were then used by Burkholder, Gundy, and Silverstein to prove the converse of an old and celebrated theorem of Hardy and Littlewood. This paper transformed the theory of Hardy spaces of analytic functions in the unit disc and extended and completed classical results of Marcinkiewicz concerning norms of conjugate functions and Hilbert transforms. While some connections between probability and analytic and harmonic functions had previously been known, this single paper persuaded many analysts to learn probability.These papers together with Burkholder's study of martingale transforms led to major advances in Banach spaces. A simple geometric condition given by Burkholder was shown by Burkholder, Terry McConnell, and Jean Bourgain to characterize those Banach spaces for which the analog of the Hilbert transform retains important properties of the classical Hilbert transform.Techniques involved in Burkholder's usually successful pursuit of best constants in martingale inequalities have become central to extensive recent research into two well- known open problems, one involving the two dimensional Hilbert transform and its connection to quasiconformal mappings and the other a conjecture in the calculus of variations concerning rank-one convex and quasiconvex functions.This book includes reprints of many of Burkholder's papers, together with two commentaries on his work and its continuing impact.

This volume contains 30 of David Brillinger's most influential papers. The biologically oriented papers are commented by Tore Schweder from Norway and Haiganoush Preisler from USA, while the point process papers have comments by Peter Guttorp from USA.

The chapters also span continents and generations, as they present research done over four decades, while crisscrossing the globe.The commentaries provide insight into Terry’s contributions to a particular area of research, by summarizing his work and describing its historical and scientific context, motivation, and impact.

These volumes present a selection of Erich L. Lehmann’s monumental contributions to Statistics. These works are multifaceted. His early work included fundamental contributions to hypothesis testing, theory of point estimation, and more generally to decision theory. His work in Nonparametric Statistics was groundbreaking. His fundamental contributions in this area include results that came to assuage the anxiety of statisticians that were skeptical of nonparametric methodologies, and his work on concepts of dependence has created a large literature.The two volumes are divided into chapters of related works. Invited contributors have critiqued the papers in each chapter, and the reprinted group of papers follows each commentary. A complete bibliography that contains links to recorded talks by Erich Lehmann – and which are freely accessible to the public – and a list of Ph.D. students are also included. These volumes belong in every statistician’s personal collection and are a required holding for any institutional library.