Catoni mean estimator Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-11-05
A Catoni mean estimator estimates an expected value from independent and identically distributed random variables with finite variance, using a nonlinear score instead of directly averaging the observations. Choose a continuous monotone function satisfyingand solve for .
For known variance , set , , and assume . The choicesgive . The quadratic envelope controls exponential moments of the transformed score using only second moments; Markov's inequality and score monotonicity then bracket its root. The tuning depends on the variance and confidence level in this version.[ref]
The estimating score is not automatically a normalized population influence function. This procedure targets the mean of the sampled probability distribution; it does not identify an uncontaminated component's location without additional assumptions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 223 4 b Solution 2026-09-28
The Markov inequality applied to the first exponential-moment bound givesThe second bound controls the lower tail. The union bound therefore givesSinceputting ,makes the exponent equal to . It follows that the Catoni mean estimator satisfies