Let X {\displaystyle X} denote a random vector (corresponding to the measurements), taken from a parametrized family of probability density functions or probability mass functions f θ ( x ) {\displaystyle f_{\theta }(x)} , which depends on the unknown deterministic parameter θ ∈ Θ {\displaystyle \theta \in \Theta } . The parameter space Θ {\displaystyle \Theta } is partitioned into two disjoint sets Θ 0 {\displaystyle \Theta _{0}} and Θ 1 {\displaystyle \Theta _{1}} . Let H 0 {\displaystyle H_{0}} denote the hypothesis that θ ∈ Θ 0 {\displaystyle \theta \in \Theta _{0}} , and let H 1 {\displaystyle H_{1}} denote the hypothesis that θ ∈ Θ 1 {\displaystyle \theta \in \Theta _{1}} . The binary test of hypotheses is performed using a test function φ ( x ) {\displaystyle \varphi (x)} with a reject region R {\displaystyle R} (a subset of measurement space).
meaning that H 1 {\displaystyle H_{1}} is in force if the measurement X ∈ R {\displaystyle X\in R} and that H 0 {\displaystyle H_{0}} is in force if the measurement X ∈ R c {\displaystyle X\in R^{c}} . Note that R ∪ R c {\displaystyle R\cup R^{c}} is a disjoint covering of the measurement space.
A test function φ ( x ) {\displaystyle \varphi (x)} is UMP of size α {\displaystyle \alpha } if for any other test function φ ′ ( x ) {\displaystyle \varphi '(x)} satisfying
we have
The Karlin–Rubin theorem can be regarded as an extension of the Neyman–Pearson lemma for composite hypotheses.1 Consider a scalar measurement having a probability density function parameterized by a scalar parameter θ, and define the likelihood ratio l ( x ) = f θ 1 ( x ) / f θ 0 ( x ) {\displaystyle l(x)=f_{\theta _{1}}(x)/f_{\theta _{0}}(x)} . If l ( x ) {\displaystyle l(x)} is monotone non-decreasing, in x {\displaystyle x} , for any pair θ 1 ≥ θ 0 {\displaystyle \theta _{1}\geq \theta _{0}} (meaning that the greater x {\displaystyle x} is, the more likely H 1 {\displaystyle H_{1}} is), then the threshold test:
is the UMP test of size α for testing H 0 : θ ≤ θ 0 vs. H 1 : θ > θ 0 . {\displaystyle H_{0}:\theta \leq \theta _{0}{\text{ vs. }}H_{1}:\theta >\theta _{0}.}
Note that exactly the same test is also UMP for testing H 0 : θ = θ 0 vs. H 1 : θ > θ 0 . {\displaystyle H_{0}:\theta =\theta _{0}{\text{ vs. }}H_{1}:\theta >\theta _{0}.}
Although the Karlin-Rubin theorem may seem weak because of its restriction to scalar parameter and scalar measurement, it turns out that there exist a host of problems for which the theorem holds. In particular, the one-dimensional exponential family of probability density functions or probability mass functions with
has a monotone non-decreasing likelihood ratio in the sufficient statistic T ( x ) {\displaystyle T(x)} , provided that η ( θ ) {\displaystyle \eta (\theta )} is non-decreasing.
Let X = ( X 0 , … , X M − 1 ) {\displaystyle X=(X_{0},\ldots ,X_{M-1})} denote i.i.d. normally distributed N {\displaystyle N} -dimensional random vectors with mean θ m {\displaystyle \theta m} and covariance matrix R {\displaystyle R} . We then have
which is exactly in the form of the exponential family shown in the previous section, with the sufficient statistic being
Thus, we conclude that the test
is the UMP test of size α {\displaystyle \alpha } for testing H 0 : θ ⩽ θ 0 {\displaystyle H_{0}:\theta \leqslant \theta _{0}} vs. H 1 : θ > θ 0 {\displaystyle H_{1}:\theta >\theta _{0}}
In general, UMP tests do not exist for vector parameters or for two-sided tests (a test in which one hypothesis lies on both sides of the alternative). The reason is that in these situations, the most powerful test of a given size for one possible value of the parameter (e.g. for θ 1 {\displaystyle \theta _{1}} where θ 1 > θ 0 {\displaystyle \theta _{1}>\theta _{0}} ) is different from the most powerful test of the same size for a different value of the parameter (e.g. for θ 2 {\displaystyle \theta _{2}} where θ 2 < θ 0 {\displaystyle \theta _{2}<\theta _{0}} ). As a result, no test is uniformly most powerful in these situations.
Casella, G.; Berger, R.L. (2008), Statistical Inference, Brooks/Cole. ISBN 0-495-39187-5 (Theorem 8.3.17) /wiki/ISBN_(identifier) ↩