Well-Posedness of Measurement Error Models for Self-Reported Data

It is widely admitted that the inverse problem of estimating the distribution of a latent variable X* from an observed sample of X, a contaminated measurement of X*, is ill-posed. This paper shows that a property of self-reporting errors, observed from validation studies, is that the probability of reporting the truth is nonzero conditional on the true values, and furthermore, this property implies that measurement error models for self-reporting data are in fact well-posed. We also illustrate that the classical measurement error models may in fact be conditionally well-posed given prior information on the distribution of the latent variable X*.

Well-posedness of measurement error models for self-reported data

It is widely admitted that the inverse problem of estimating the distribution of a latent variable X* from an observed sample of X, a contaminated measurement of X*, is ill-posed. This paper shows that measurement error models for self-reporting data are well-posed, assuming the probability of reporting truthfully is nonzero, which is an observed property in validation studies. This optimistic result suggests that one should not ignore the point mass at zero in the error distribution when modeling measurement errors in self-reported data. We also illustrate that the classical measurement error models may in fact be conditionally well-posed given prior information on the distribution of the latent variable X*. By both a Monte Carlo study and an empirical application, we show that failing to account for the property can lead to significant bias on estimation of distribution of X*.

Generalized Turing Patterns and Their Selective Realization in Spatiotemporal Systems

We consider the pattern formation problem in coupled identical systems after the global synchronized state becomes unstable. Based on analytical results relating the coupling strengths and the instability of each spatial mode (pattern) we show that these spatial patterns can be selectively realized by varying the coupling strengths along different paths in the parameter space. Furthermore, we discuss the important role of the synchronized state (fixed point versus chaotic attractor) in modulating the temporal dynamics of the spatial patterns.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Energy spread and current-current correlation in quantum systems

We consider energy (heat) transport in quantum systems, and establish a relationship between energy spread and energy current-current correlation function. The energy current-current correlation is related to thermal conductivity by the Green-Kubo formula, and thus this relationship allows us to study conductivity directly from the energy spread process. As an example, we investigate a spinless fermion model; the numerical results confirm the relationship.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure