Stochastic Processes

Geometric aspects of smooth random fields

Topics

  • Gaussian processes:
    • general properties;
    • representations;
    • continuity and smoothness
    • exceedence probabilities
  • Geometric tools:
    • Euler characteristic
    • (some) Morse theory
    • Tube formulae
    • (some) integral geometry
    • Kac-Rice formula
  • Geometry and Gaussian fields:
    • Expected Euler characteristic for stationary fields
    • Expected Euler characteristic for non-stationary (but marginally stationary) fields
    • Gaussian Kinematic Formula and examples
  • Exceedence probabilities for smooth fields
  • Structure of excursion sets
    • Palm distributions
    • Local strucutre of Gaussian maxima
    • High local maxima
  • Applications
    • Signal detection in neuroimaging
    • Astrophysics
    • Selective inference
    • Others ?

Instructor & TAs

Instructor

Jonathan Taylor

  • Office: Sequoia Hall #137
  • Phone: 723-9230,
  • Email
  • Office hours: TBA

Teaching Assistants

TBA

Email list

The course has an email list that reaches TAs as well as the professor: stats317-win1718-staff@lists.stanford.edu.

Schedule & Location

T-Th 1:30-2:50, 420-050

Textbook

We will be using this draft of a textbook authored by Robert Adler, myself and the late Keith Worsley.

Evaluation

  • 2-3 homeworks: 50%
  • project + presentation 50%.