Modelling Function-Valued Processes with Nonseparable Covariance Structure
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We discuss a general Bayesian framework on modelling multidimensional function-valued processes by using a Gaussian process or a heavy-tailed process as a prior, enabling us to handle nonseparable and/or nonstationary covariance structure. The nonstationarity is introduced by a convolution-based approach through a varying kernel, whose parameters vary along the input space and are estimated via a local empirical Bayesian method. For the varying anisotropy matrix, we propose to use a spherical parametrisation, leading to unconstrained and interpretable parameters. The unconstrained nature allows the parameters to be modelled as a nonparametric function of time, spatial location or other covariates. Furthermore, to extract important information in data with complex covariance structure, the Bayesian framework can decompose the function-valued processes using the eigenvalues and eigensurfaces calculated from the estimated covariance structure. The results are demonstrated by simulation studies and by an application to real data.
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