AI summary · arXiv: 2611.02195v1 · math.PR

The multivariate Berry-Esseen theorem with an absolute constant

Zhi Ling
Original paper Submitted to arXiv on 01 Nov. 2026 License: NONEXCLUSIVE-DISTRIB 1.0 Also in: fr

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The essentials

The paper proves a dimension-independent multivariate Berry–Esseen bound over convex sets, with universal constant 980.

Based on the abstract only: check the details in the original paper.

Question

Can the multivariate Berry–Esseen inequality for sums of independent random vectors be bounded by a constant that does not depend on dimension? What moment conditions suffice for such a bound?

Method

For independent centered vectors in R^d whose covariance matrices sum to the identity, the paper bounds the distance between their sum and a standard multivariate normal, uniformly over convex sets. The bound uses the sum of the vectors’ third absolute moments, requires only finite third moments, and gives a universal constant that can be chosen as 980.

Findings

  • Result The convex-set distance from the sum to the standard multivariate normal is at most a universal constant times the sum of the third moments of the summands.
    See the passage in the paper
    For independent centered random vectors $X_1,\ldots,X_n\in\mathbb{R}^d$ whose covariance matrices sum to $I_d$, we show that the distance between the distribution of their sum and $N(0,I_d)$, measured uniformly over convex sets, is at most $C_0\sum_{i=1}^n\mathbb{E}\|X_i\|_2^3$ for a universal constant $C_0$.
  • Result The bound is uniform in dimension, number of summands, and their distributions.
    See the passage in the paper
    The bound requires only finite third moments and holds uniformly in the dimension, the number of summands, and their distributions.
  • Result The universal constant in the bound can be taken to be 980.
    See the passage in the paper
    In particular, $C_0$ can be chosen to be $980$.
  • Result The result also gives the corresponding Berry–Esseen bound for independent identically distributed vectors.
    See the passage in the paper
    It also yields the corresponding bound for independent and identically distributed vectors.

Limitations

  • The stated theorem applies to centered independent random vectors whose covariance matrices sum to the identity; the abstract does not claim coverage beyond these conditions.

Why it matters

The result establishes a multivariate Berry–Esseen inequality with a constant independent of dimension. As presented by the authors, it provides a uniform bound under only finite third-moment assumptions, including a corresponding result for identically distributed vectors.

Written by AI from the paper. Passages are checked word for word against the text we analysed; the rest may contain errors.

AI-generated keywords: Multivariate Berry–Esseen theorem dimension-independent bound convex sets third moments Gaussian approximation

Read further

  • Comprehensive Summary
  • Layman's Summary
  • Blog article
  • Original abstract
The paper addresses whether the constant in the multivariate Berry–Esseen theorem must grow with dimension. The theorem measures how closely the distribution of a sum of independent random vectors approximates a Gaussian distribution. In one dimension, classical results bound this approximation in terms of the summands’ third moments. In multiple dimensions, the paper considers distance measured uniformly over convex sets and proves that the bound can have a constant independent of dimension. Specifically, for independent, centered random vectors in Euclidean space whose covariance matrices sum to the identity matrix, the distance between the distribution of their sum and the standard multivariate normal distribution is at most a universal constant times the sum of their third absolute moments, measured using the Euclidean norm. The result requires only finite third moments. Its constant does not depend on the dimension, the number of summands, or their distributions. The paper states that the constant can be taken to be 980. Thus, under the stated covariance normalization, the error is bounded by 980 times the sum of the expected cubed Euclidean norms of the summands. The abstract also states that the theorem yields a corresponding bound for independent, identically distributed vectors, but does not provide the precise formulation of that consequence. Further details about its normalization or rate therefore cannot be given based on the available material. The result is significant because controlling approximation uniformly over convex sets in several dimensions can be more difficult than in one dimension. A single absolute constant means that the stated guarantee does not deteriorate merely as the ambient dimension increases. According to the abstract, the result also covers non-identically distributed summands and requires only a third-moment condition. The available material does not describe the proof method. Since only the title and abstract are provided, it would be inaccurate to infer whether the proof uses smoothing, induction, Stein’s method, or another technique, or to describe intermediate lemmas or proof innovations. The abstract establishes the theorem, its assumptions, and its stated constant, but not how they are obtained. The scope of this summary is therefore limited. The available text does not define the precise convention for distance over convex sets, discuss whether the constant 980 is sharp, compare it quantitatively with earlier bounds, or provide examples illustrating the bound’s performance. It also does not state the identically distributed case in detail or explore extensions beyond finite third moments. In summary, the paper claims a multivariate Berry–Esseen inequality with a dimension-independent constant of 980 for sums of independent, centered vectors whose total covariance is the identity. The error is controlled by the sum of the vectors’ third absolute moments.

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Weekly letter Presented in "Mathematics and statistics this week" of 9 November 2026. Mathematics and statistics this week: Where geometry sets the limits

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Prior work it builds on

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    The concentration inequality approach for normal approxima- tion by Stein's method is generalized to the multivariate setting. We use this approach to prove a non-smooth function distance for multivariate normal approximation for standardized sums of k-dimensional indepen- dent random vectors W = Pn=1 Xi with an error bound of order k 1/2 where = P n=1 E|Xi| 3 . For sums of locally dependent (unbounded) ran- dom vectors, we obtain a fourth moment bound which is typically of order Ok(1/ p n), as well as a third moment bound which is typically of order

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