An exact algorithm for weighted-mean trimmed regions in any dimension

Abstract

Trimmed regions are a powerful tool of multivariate data analysis. They describe a probability distribution in Euclidean d-space regarding location, dispersion, and shape, and they order multivariate data with respect to their centrality. Dyckerhoff and Mosler (201x) have introduced the class of weighted-mean trimmed regions, which possess attractive properties regarding continuity, subadditivity, and monotonicity. We present an exact algorithm to compute the weighted-mean trimmed regions of a given data cloud in arbitrary dimension d. These trimmed regions are convex polytopes in Rd. To calculate them, the algorithm builds on methods from computational geometry. A characterization of a region's facets is used, and information about the adjacency of the facets is extracted from the data. A key problem consists in ordering the facets. It is solved by the introduction of a tree-based order. The algorithm has been programmed in C++ and is available as an R package. --central regions,data depth,multivariate data analysis,convex polytope,computational geometry,algorithm,C++, R