Phase transition for the smallest eigenvalue of covariance matrices
Speaker:
Zhigang Bao, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Date and Time:
Thursday, November 16, 2023 - 4:00pm to 5:00pm
Location:
Online
Abstract:
In the study of extreme eigenvalues of Wigner matrices and the largest eigenvalue of sample covariance matrices, it has been established that a weak 4th moment condition is necessary and sufficient for the Tracy-Widom law to hold. In this talk, we will show that the Tracy-Widom law is more robust for the smallest non-zero eigenvalue of the sample covariance matrix. We will specifically illustrate a phase transition from the Tracy-Widom distribution to a Gaussian distribution when the tail exponent of the matrix entry distribution crosses the value of 8/3. This talk is based on a joint work with Jaehun Lee and Xiaocong Xu.