Rates of convergence for extremes of geometric random variables and marked point processes

Abstract

We use the Stein-Chen method to study the extremal behaviour of the problem of extremes for univariate and bivariate geometric laws. We obtain a rate for the convergence to the Gumbel distribution of the law of the maximum of i. i. d. geometric random variables, and show that convergence is faster when approximating by a discretised Gumbel. We similarly find a rate of convergence for the law of maxima of bivariate Marshall-Olkin geometric random pairs when approximating by a discrete limit law. We introduce marked point processes of exceedances (MPPEs), both with univariate and bivariate Marshall-Olkin geometric variables as marks and we determine bounds on the error of the approximation, in an appropriate probability metric, of the law of the MPPE by that of a Poisson process with same mean measure. We then approximate by another Poisson process with an easier-to-use mean measure and estimate the error of this additional approximation. This work contains and extends results contained in the second author's PhD thesis (available at arXiv:1310.2564) under the supervision of Andrew D. Barbour.