Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ii / Paper 4 / 27K / d / Solution

Use the convention that the likelihood ratio is maximized alternative likelihood divided by null likelihood. The alternative excludes zero, but its supremum agrees with the unrestricted maximum, even on the exceptional sample $\overline{X}=0$. Completing the square givesUnder the null, $\sqrt{n}\overline{X}\sim {\mathcal{N}}_d(0,I_d)$, so $2\log \Lambda \sim {\chi }_d^2$ exactly for every $n$. Equivalently $\Lambda$ is distributed as $e^{Y/2}$ for $Y\sim {\chi }_d^2$. With the reciprocal likelihood-ratio convention the statistic is $-2\log \Lambda$ instead.

Wilks theorem predicts a limiting chi-squared distribution with degrees of freedom equal to the difference of parameter dimensions, here $d-0=d$, under regularity and an interior null point of the unrestricted model. This example strengthens the asymptotic conclusion to an exact finite-sample identity.