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Normal likelihood
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Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford
/
2023
/
Prelims
/
Mathematics III
/
8
/
a
/
i
/
Solution
2026-10-25
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For known
σ
2
>
0
, maximizing the
normal likelihood
over
μ
is equivalent to minimizing
∑
i
(
X
i
−
μ
)
2
. The identity
∑
i
(
X
i
−
μ
)
2
=
∑
i
(
X
i
−
X
)
2
+
n
(
μ
−
X
)
2
(1)
shows that the unique minimum occurs at
μ
^
=
X
. Equivalently, the
log-likelihood
has
second
derivative
−
n
/
σ
2
<
0
.
Total
articles
:
1