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Main Authors: Das, Nabaneet, Dickhaus, Thorsten
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21969
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author Das, Nabaneet
Dickhaus, Thorsten
author_facet Das, Nabaneet
Dickhaus, Thorsten
contents The proportion of edges in a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) characterizes the complexity of its conditional dependence structure. Since edge presence corresponds to a nonzero entry of the precision matrix, estimation of this proportion can be formulated as a large-scale multiple testing problem. We propose an estimator that combines p-values from simultaneous edge-wise tests, conducted under false discovery rate control, with Storey's estimator of the proportion of true null hypotheses. We establish weak dependence conditions on the precision matrix under which the empirical cumulative distribution function of the p-values converges to its population counterpart. These conditions cover high-dimensional regimes, including those arising in genetic association studies. Under such dependence, we characterize the asymptotic bias of the Schweder--Spjøtvoll estimator, showing that it is upward biased and thus slightly underestimates the true edge proportion. Simulation studies across a variety of models confirm accurate recovery of graph complexity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_21969
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Estimation of the complexity of a network under a Gaussian graphical model
Das, Nabaneet
Dickhaus, Thorsten
Methodology
The proportion of edges in a Gaussian graphical model (GGM) characterizes the complexity of its conditional dependence structure. Since edge presence corresponds to a nonzero entry of the precision matrix, estimation of this proportion can be formulated as a large-scale multiple testing problem. We propose an estimator that combines p-values from simultaneous edge-wise tests, conducted under false discovery rate control, with Storey's estimator of the proportion of true null hypotheses. We establish weak dependence conditions on the precision matrix under which the empirical cumulative distribution function of the p-values converges to its population counterpart. These conditions cover high-dimensional regimes, including those arising in genetic association studies. Under such dependence, we characterize the asymptotic bias of the Schweder--Spjøtvoll estimator, showing that it is upward biased and thus slightly underestimates the true edge proportion. Simulation studies across a variety of models confirm accurate recovery of graph complexity.
title Estimation of the complexity of a network under a Gaussian graphical model
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21969