Asymptotic and finite-sample distributions of one- and two-sample empirical relative entropy, with application to change-point detection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Garcin, Matthieu, Perot, Louis
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Garcin, Matthieu
Perot, Louis
author_facet Garcin, Matthieu
Perot, Louis
contents Relative entropy, as a divergence metric between two distributions, can be used for offline change-point detection and extends classical methods that mainly rely on moment-based discrepancies. To build a statistical test suitable for this context, we study the distribution of empirical relative entropy and derive several types of approximations: concentration inequalities for finite samples, asymptotic distributions, and Berry-Esseen bounds in a pre-asymptotic regime. For the latter, we introduce a new approach to obtain Berry-Esseen inequalities for nonlinear functions of sum statistics under some convexity assumptions. Our theoretical contributions cover both one- and two-sample empirical relative entropies. We then detail a change-point detection procedure built on relative entropy and compare it, through extensive simulations, with classical methods based on moments or on information criteria. Finally, we illustrate its practical relevance on two real datasets involving temperature series and volatility of stock indices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_16411
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Asymptotic and finite-sample distributions of one- and two-sample empirical relative entropy, with application to change-point detection
Garcin, Matthieu
Perot, Louis
Methodology
Statistics Theory
Statistical Finance
Trading and Market Microstructure
Applications
Relative entropy, as a divergence metric between two distributions, can be used for offline change-point detection and extends classical methods that mainly rely on moment-based discrepancies. To build a statistical test suitable for this context, we study the distribution of empirical relative entropy and derive several types of approximations: concentration inequalities for finite samples, asymptotic distributions, and Berry-Esseen bounds in a pre-asymptotic regime. For the latter, we introduce a new approach to obtain Berry-Esseen inequalities for nonlinear functions of sum statistics under some convexity assumptions. Our theoretical contributions cover both one- and two-sample empirical relative entropies. We then detail a change-point detection procedure built on relative entropy and compare it, through extensive simulations, with classical methods based on moments or on information criteria. Finally, we illustrate its practical relevance on two real datasets involving temperature series and volatility of stock indices.
title Asymptotic and finite-sample distributions of one- and two-sample empirical relative entropy, with application to change-point detection
topic Methodology
Statistics Theory
Statistical Finance
Trading and Market Microstructure
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.16411