Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yeon, Hyemin, Dai, Xiongtao, Lopez-Pintado, Sara
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20604
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866911700242923520
author Yeon, Hyemin
Dai, Xiongtao
Lopez-Pintado, Sara
author_facet Yeon, Hyemin
Dai, Xiongtao
Lopez-Pintado, Sara
contents Many functional datasets are observed sparsely and irregularly. Ordering such data is challenging because only limited information is available from each observation, while the underlying trajectories remain infinite-dimensional. This paper develops a novel depth notion for sparse functional data, called the conditional regularized halfspace depth (CRHD). CRHD is defined as the infimum of conditional halfspace probabilities of the underlying trajectory given the observed sparse measurements, thereby enabling depth evaluation directly at sparse observations without requiring trajectory reconstruction. We study several basic theoretical properties of CRHD that clarify its behavior as a depth measure. The proposed depth is applicable even to extremely sparsely observed functional data, overcoming key limitations of existing sparse functional depths that often rely on reconstructed curves. In addition, CRHD induces meaningful rankings for complex functional data. Its numerical performance is demonstrated through rank-based tests, and its practical utility is illustrated using an infant growth dataset.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_20604
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Conditional regularized halfspace depth for sparse functional data and its applications
Yeon, Hyemin
Dai, Xiongtao
Lopez-Pintado, Sara
Methodology
Many functional datasets are observed sparsely and irregularly. Ordering such data is challenging because only limited information is available from each observation, while the underlying trajectories remain infinite-dimensional. This paper develops a novel depth notion for sparse functional data, called the conditional regularized halfspace depth (CRHD). CRHD is defined as the infimum of conditional halfspace probabilities of the underlying trajectory given the observed sparse measurements, thereby enabling depth evaluation directly at sparse observations without requiring trajectory reconstruction. We study several basic theoretical properties of CRHD that clarify its behavior as a depth measure. The proposed depth is applicable even to extremely sparsely observed functional data, overcoming key limitations of existing sparse functional depths that often rely on reconstructed curves. In addition, CRHD induces meaningful rankings for complex functional data. Its numerical performance is demonstrated through rank-based tests, and its practical utility is illustrated using an infant growth dataset.
title Conditional regularized halfspace depth for sparse functional data and its applications
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.20604