A weight function is a mathematical device used when performing a sum, integral, or average to give some elements more "weight" or influence on the result than other elements in the same set. The result of this application of a weight function is a weighted sum or weighted average. Weight functions occur frequently in statistics and analysis, and are closely related to the concept of a measure. Weight functions can be employed in both discrete and continuous settings. They can be used to construct systems of calculus called "weighted calculus" and "meta-calculus".

Discrete weights

General definition

is a positive function defined on a discrete set, which is typically finite or countable corresponds to the unweighted situation in which all elements have equal weight. One can then apply this weight to various concepts.

is a real-valued function, then the unweighted sum is defined as

but given a weight function, the weighted sum or conical combination is defined as

One common application of weighted sums arises in numerical integration.

If B is a finite subset of A, one can replace the unweighted cardinality |B| of B by the weighted cardinality

If A is a finite non-empty set, one can replace the unweighted mean or average

by the weighted mean or weighted average

In this case only the relative weights are relevant.

Statistics

Weighted means are commonly used in statistics to compensate for the presence of bias with variance, the best estimate of the signal is obtained by averaging all the measurements with weight and the resulting variance is smaller than each of the independent measurements The maximum likelihood method weights the difference between fit and data using the same weights

The expected value of a random variable is the weighted average of the possible values it might take on, with the weights being the respective probabilities. More generally, the expected value of a function of a random variable is the probability-weighted average of the values the function takes on for each possible value of the random variable.

In regressions in which the dependent variable is assumed to be affected by both current and lagged (past) values of the independent variable, a distributed lag function is estimated, this function being a weighted average of the current and various lagged independent variable values. Similarly, a moving average model specifies an evolving variable as a weighted average of current and various lagged values of a random variable.

Mechanics

The terminology weight function arises from mechanics objects on a lever (where weight is now interpreted in the physical sense) and locations then the lever will be in balance if the fulcrum of the lever is at the center of mass

which is also the weighted average of the positions

Continuous weights

In the continuous setting, a weight is a positive measure on some domain, which is typically a subset of a Euclidean space could be an interval is Lebesgue measure is a non-negative measurable function is sometimes referred to as a density.

General definition

is a real-valued function, then the unweighted integral

can be generalized to the weighted integral

to be absolutely integrable in order for this integral to be finite.

Weighted volume

If E, then the volume vol(E) of E can be generalized to the weighted volume

Weighted average

has finite non-zero weighted volume, then we can replace the unweighted average

by the weighted average

Bilinear form

are two functions, one can generalize the unweighted bilinear form

to a weighted bilinear form

See the entry on orthogonal polynomials for examples of weighted orthogonal functions.

See also

• Center of mass

• Numerical integration

• Orthogonality

• Weighted mean

• Linear combination

• Kernel (statistics)

• Measure (mathematics)

• Riemann–Stieltjes integral

• Weighting

• Window function

References