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In probability theory and statistics, the moment-generating function of a real-valued random variable is an alternative specification of its probability distribution.Thus, it provides the basis of an alternative route to analytical results compared with working directly with probability density functions or cumulative distribution functions.
In probability theory, it is possible to approximate the moments of a function f of a random variable X using Taylor expansions, provided that f is sufficiently differentiable and that the moments of X are finite. A simulation-based alternative to this approximation is the application of Monte Carlo simulations.
In mathematics, the moments of a function are certain quantitative measures related to the shape of the function's graph.If the function represents mass density, then the zeroth moment is the total mass, the first moment (normalized by total mass) is the center of mass, and the second moment is the moment of inertia.
In statistics, the method of moments is a method of estimation of population parameters.The same principle is used to derive higher moments like skewness and kurtosis. It starts by expressing the population moments (i.e., the expected values of powers of the random variable under consideration) as functions of the parameters of interest.
The moment generating function of a real random variable is the expected value of , as a function of the real parameter . For a normal distribution with density f {\textstyle f} , mean μ {\textstyle \mu } and variance σ 2 {\textstyle \sigma ^{2}} , the moment generating function exists and is equal to
So the cumulant generating function is the logarithm of the moment generating function = (). The first cumulant is the expected value ; the second and third cumulants are respectively the second and third central moments (the second central moment is the variance ); but the higher cumulants are neither moments nor central moments, but ...
In probability theory and statistics, the factorial moment generating function (FMGF) of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable X is defined as = [] for all complex numbers t for which this expected value exists.
The first few central moments have intuitive interpretations: The "zeroth" central moment μ 0 is 1. The first central moment μ 1 is 0 (not to be confused with the first raw moment or the expected value μ). The second central moment μ 2 is called the variance, and is usually denoted σ 2, where σ represents the standard deviation.