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arXiv · 1911.07324

Testing Properties of Multiple Distributions with Few Samples

Maryam Aliakbarpour·Sandeep Silwal
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Abstract

We propose a new setting for testing properties of distributions while receiving samples from several distributions, but few samples per distribution. Given samples from $s$ distributions, $p_1, p_2, \ldots, p_s$, we design testers for the following problems: (1) Uniformity Testing: Testing whether all the $p_i$'s are uniform or $\epsilon$-far from being uniform in $\ell_1$-distance (2) Identity Testing: Testing whether all the $p_i$'s are equal to an explicitly given distribution $q$ or $\epsilon$-far from $q$ in $\ell_1$-distance, and (3) Closeness Testing: Testing whether all the $p_i$'s are equal to a distribution $q$ which we have sample access to, or $\epsilon$-far from $q$ in $\ell_1$-distance. By assuming an additional natural condition about the source distributions, we provide sample optimal testers for all of these problems.

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BibTeXRIS

Maryam Aliakbarpour, Sandeep Silwal. 2019-11-17. Testing Properties of Multiple Distributions with Few Samples. https://arxiv.org/abs/1911.07324

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