Marginal Distributions
To obtain the marginal distribution over a subset of multivariate normal random variables, one only needs to drop the irrelevant variables (the variables that one wants to marginalize out) from the mean vector and the covariance matrix. The proof for this follows from the definitions of multivariate normal distributions and linear algebra.
Example
Let x = be multivariate normal random variables with mean vector μ = and covariance matrix Σ (standard parametrization for multivariate normal distributions). Then the joint distribution of x′ = is multivariate normal with mean vector μ′ = and covariance matrix .
Read more about this topic: Multivariate Normal Distribution
Famous quotes containing the word marginal:
“In realms of knowledge, we bequeath our books,
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The funnier of our witty marginal notes.”
—Philip Larkin (19221986)