Find three Poisson-distributed random variables, pairwise independent but not mutually independent












3












$begingroup$


I am asked to give an example of three Poisson-distributed random variables which are pairwise independent, but are not mutually independent.



I thought of the example about the Intersection where cars are coming from one side and they can go to one of three directions left, right or keep straight, with probabilities $p $, $q $ and $1-p-q$, respectively.



However, I find it hard to prove.










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    3












    $begingroup$


    I am asked to give an example of three Poisson-distributed random variables which are pairwise independent, but are not mutually independent.



    I thought of the example about the Intersection where cars are coming from one side and they can go to one of three directions left, right or keep straight, with probabilities $p $, $q $ and $1-p-q$, respectively.



    However, I find it hard to prove.










    share|cite|improve this question











    $endgroup$















      3












      3








      3





      $begingroup$


      I am asked to give an example of three Poisson-distributed random variables which are pairwise independent, but are not mutually independent.



      I thought of the example about the Intersection where cars are coming from one side and they can go to one of three directions left, right or keep straight, with probabilities $p $, $q $ and $1-p-q$, respectively.



      However, I find it hard to prove.










      share|cite|improve this question











      $endgroup$




      I am asked to give an example of three Poisson-distributed random variables which are pairwise independent, but are not mutually independent.



      I thought of the example about the Intersection where cars are coming from one side and they can go to one of three directions left, right or keep straight, with probabilities $p $, $q $ and $1-p-q$, respectively.



      However, I find it hard to prove.







      probability-theory poisson-distribution independence






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      share|cite|improve this question













      share|cite|improve this question




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      edited Dec 7 '16 at 16:25









      Did

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      asked Dec 7 '16 at 6:01









      Don FanucciDon Fanucci

      1,320420




      1,320420






















          1 Answer
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          2












          $begingroup$

          Let $p(x,y,z)$ be the joint PMF for independent Poisson random variables with parameters $lambda_1, lambda_2, lambda_3$. I will modify this slightly to
          obtain a joint PMF $q(x,y,z)$.
          The requirement for the marginals $X,Y,Z$ to have the correct distributions and be pairwise independent is that
          $$P(X=x,Y=y) = sum_{z=0}^infty q(x,y,z) = sum_{z=0}^infty p(x,y,z)$$
          and similarly for the sums over $x$ and $y$. Of course we need all $q(x,y,z)$ to be nonnegative. We can manage this by starting with $q = p$ and slightly changing $8$ of the entries: add $epsilon$ to $q(0,0,1), q(0,1,0),q(1,0,0)$ and $q(1,1,1)$ and subtract $epsilon$ from $q(0,0,0), q(0,1,1), q(1,0,1)$ and $q(1,1,0)$, where $epsilon$ is small enough that all of these are still nonnegative.



          Of course there is nothing very special about the Poisson distributions here: you could do something similar for any nontrivial discrete distributions.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:27










          • $begingroup$
            I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:30












          • $begingroup$
            (1) Right. (2) Yes.
            $endgroup$
            – Robert Israel
            Dec 8 '16 at 6:42











          Your Answer





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          1 Answer
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          1 Answer
          1






          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes









          2












          $begingroup$

          Let $p(x,y,z)$ be the joint PMF for independent Poisson random variables with parameters $lambda_1, lambda_2, lambda_3$. I will modify this slightly to
          obtain a joint PMF $q(x,y,z)$.
          The requirement for the marginals $X,Y,Z$ to have the correct distributions and be pairwise independent is that
          $$P(X=x,Y=y) = sum_{z=0}^infty q(x,y,z) = sum_{z=0}^infty p(x,y,z)$$
          and similarly for the sums over $x$ and $y$. Of course we need all $q(x,y,z)$ to be nonnegative. We can manage this by starting with $q = p$ and slightly changing $8$ of the entries: add $epsilon$ to $q(0,0,1), q(0,1,0),q(1,0,0)$ and $q(1,1,1)$ and subtract $epsilon$ from $q(0,0,0), q(0,1,1), q(1,0,1)$ and $q(1,1,0)$, where $epsilon$ is small enough that all of these are still nonnegative.



          Of course there is nothing very special about the Poisson distributions here: you could do something similar for any nontrivial discrete distributions.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:27










          • $begingroup$
            I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:30












          • $begingroup$
            (1) Right. (2) Yes.
            $endgroup$
            – Robert Israel
            Dec 8 '16 at 6:42
















          2












          $begingroup$

          Let $p(x,y,z)$ be the joint PMF for independent Poisson random variables with parameters $lambda_1, lambda_2, lambda_3$. I will modify this slightly to
          obtain a joint PMF $q(x,y,z)$.
          The requirement for the marginals $X,Y,Z$ to have the correct distributions and be pairwise independent is that
          $$P(X=x,Y=y) = sum_{z=0}^infty q(x,y,z) = sum_{z=0}^infty p(x,y,z)$$
          and similarly for the sums over $x$ and $y$. Of course we need all $q(x,y,z)$ to be nonnegative. We can manage this by starting with $q = p$ and slightly changing $8$ of the entries: add $epsilon$ to $q(0,0,1), q(0,1,0),q(1,0,0)$ and $q(1,1,1)$ and subtract $epsilon$ from $q(0,0,0), q(0,1,1), q(1,0,1)$ and $q(1,1,0)$, where $epsilon$ is small enough that all of these are still nonnegative.



          Of course there is nothing very special about the Poisson distributions here: you could do something similar for any nontrivial discrete distributions.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$













          • $begingroup$
            Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:27










          • $begingroup$
            I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:30












          • $begingroup$
            (1) Right. (2) Yes.
            $endgroup$
            – Robert Israel
            Dec 8 '16 at 6:42














          2












          2








          2





          $begingroup$

          Let $p(x,y,z)$ be the joint PMF for independent Poisson random variables with parameters $lambda_1, lambda_2, lambda_3$. I will modify this slightly to
          obtain a joint PMF $q(x,y,z)$.
          The requirement for the marginals $X,Y,Z$ to have the correct distributions and be pairwise independent is that
          $$P(X=x,Y=y) = sum_{z=0}^infty q(x,y,z) = sum_{z=0}^infty p(x,y,z)$$
          and similarly for the sums over $x$ and $y$. Of course we need all $q(x,y,z)$ to be nonnegative. We can manage this by starting with $q = p$ and slightly changing $8$ of the entries: add $epsilon$ to $q(0,0,1), q(0,1,0),q(1,0,0)$ and $q(1,1,1)$ and subtract $epsilon$ from $q(0,0,0), q(0,1,1), q(1,0,1)$ and $q(1,1,0)$, where $epsilon$ is small enough that all of these are still nonnegative.



          Of course there is nothing very special about the Poisson distributions here: you could do something similar for any nontrivial discrete distributions.






          share|cite|improve this answer









          $endgroup$



          Let $p(x,y,z)$ be the joint PMF for independent Poisson random variables with parameters $lambda_1, lambda_2, lambda_3$. I will modify this slightly to
          obtain a joint PMF $q(x,y,z)$.
          The requirement for the marginals $X,Y,Z$ to have the correct distributions and be pairwise independent is that
          $$P(X=x,Y=y) = sum_{z=0}^infty q(x,y,z) = sum_{z=0}^infty p(x,y,z)$$
          and similarly for the sums over $x$ and $y$. Of course we need all $q(x,y,z)$ to be nonnegative. We can manage this by starting with $q = p$ and slightly changing $8$ of the entries: add $epsilon$ to $q(0,0,1), q(0,1,0),q(1,0,0)$ and $q(1,1,1)$ and subtract $epsilon$ from $q(0,0,0), q(0,1,1), q(1,0,1)$ and $q(1,1,0)$, where $epsilon$ is small enough that all of these are still nonnegative.



          Of course there is nothing very special about the Poisson distributions here: you could do something similar for any nontrivial discrete distributions.







          share|cite|improve this answer












          share|cite|improve this answer



          share|cite|improve this answer










          answered Dec 8 '16 at 2:52









          Robert IsraelRobert Israel

          323k23212466




          323k23212466












          • $begingroup$
            Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:27










          • $begingroup$
            I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:30












          • $begingroup$
            (1) Right. (2) Yes.
            $endgroup$
            – Robert Israel
            Dec 8 '16 at 6:42


















          • $begingroup$
            Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:27










          • $begingroup$
            I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
            $endgroup$
            – Lee David Chung Lin
            Dec 8 '16 at 5:30












          • $begingroup$
            (1) Right. (2) Yes.
            $endgroup$
            – Robert Israel
            Dec 8 '16 at 6:42
















          $begingroup$
          Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
          $endgroup$
          – Lee David Chung Lin
          Dec 8 '16 at 5:27




          $begingroup$
          Whoa ... if I understand this correctly, this procedure can be readily generalized to create a set of 4 random variables that are not mutually independent but contain independent triplets (and so on with higher orders)? Even though this is shuffling the probability mass around without any context (modeling), it seems like a really important stuff that should be included in the standard curriculum!
          $endgroup$
          – Lee David Chung Lin
          Dec 8 '16 at 5:27












          $begingroup$
          I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
          $endgroup$
          – Lee David Chung Lin
          Dec 8 '16 at 5:30






          $begingroup$
          I have two more questions: (1) the random variables $X,Y,Z,ldots$ etc don't have to be non-negative, right? I don't see a reason why they should. (2) This system procedure is applicable to a large class of continuous distributions as well, isn't it? Just recently there was this post (math.stackexchange.com/questions/2029257) with isolated ideas of different flavors, and maybe this method can be modified to appear over there as well?
          $endgroup$
          – Lee David Chung Lin
          Dec 8 '16 at 5:30














          $begingroup$
          (1) Right. (2) Yes.
          $endgroup$
          – Robert Israel
          Dec 8 '16 at 6:42




          $begingroup$
          (1) Right. (2) Yes.
          $endgroup$
          – Robert Israel
          Dec 8 '16 at 6:42


















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