Bernstein-type bounds for beta distribution

Abstract

This work obtains sharp closed-form exponential concentration inequalities of Bernstein type for the ubiquitous beta distribution, improving upon sub-Gaussian and sub-gamma bounds previously studied in this context. The proof leverages a novel handy recursion of order 2 for central moments of the beta distribution, obtained from the hypergeometric representations of moments; this recursion is useful for obtaining explicit expressions for central moments and various tail approximations.

Keywords

• Beta distribution
• concentration bounds
• Bernstein inequality