Deriving Complete Constraints in Hidden Variable Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Sachs, Michael C., Gabriel, Erin E., Evans, Robin J., Sjölander, Arvid
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Sachs, Michael C.
Gabriel, Erin E.
Evans, Robin J.
Sjölander, Arvid
author_facet Sachs, Michael C.
Gabriel, Erin E.
Evans, Robin J.
Sjölander, Arvid
contents Hidden variable graphical models can sometimes imply constraints on the observable distribution that are more complex than simple conditional independence relations. These observable constraints can falsify assumptions of the model that would otherwise be untestable due to the unobserved variables and can be used to constrain estimation procedures to improve statistical efficiency. Knowing the complete set of observable constraints is thus ideal, but this can be difficult to determine in many settings. In models with categorical observed variables and a joint distribution that is completely characterized by linear relations to the unobservable response function variables, we develop a systematic method for deriving the complete set of observable constraints. We illustrate the method in several new settings, including ones that imply both inequality and equality constraints.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_11242
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deriving Complete Constraints in Hidden Variable Models
Sachs, Michael C.
Gabriel, Erin E.
Evans, Robin J.
Sjölander, Arvid
Methodology
Hidden variable graphical models can sometimes imply constraints on the observable distribution that are more complex than simple conditional independence relations. These observable constraints can falsify assumptions of the model that would otherwise be untestable due to the unobserved variables and can be used to constrain estimation procedures to improve statistical efficiency. Knowing the complete set of observable constraints is thus ideal, but this can be difficult to determine in many settings. In models with categorical observed variables and a joint distribution that is completely characterized by linear relations to the unobservable response function variables, we develop a systematic method for deriving the complete set of observable constraints. We illustrate the method in several new settings, including ones that imply both inequality and equality constraints.
title Deriving Complete Constraints in Hidden Variable Models
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11242