Statistics and Computing (2000) 10, 339–348 Robust mixture modelling using the t distribution D. PEEL and G. J. MCLACHLAN Department of Mathematics, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
[email protected] Normal mixture models are being increasingly used to model the distributions of a wide variety of random phenomena and to cluster sets of continuous multivariate data. However, for a set of data containing a group or groups of observations with longer than normal tails or atypical observations, the use of normal components may unduly affect the fit of the mixture model. In this paper, we consider a more robust approach by modelling the data by a mixture of t distributions. The use of the ECM algorithm to fit this t mixture model is described and examples of its use are given in the context of clustering multivariate data in the presence of atypical observations in the form of background noise. Keywords: finite mixture models, normal components, multivariate t components, maximum like- lihood, EM algorithm, cluster analysis 1. Introduction tailed alternative to the normal distribution. Hence it provides a more robust approach to the fitting of normal mixture mod- Finite mixtures of distributions have provided a mathematical- els, as observations that are atypical of a component are given based approach to the statistical modelling of a wide variety of reduced weight in the calculation of its parameters. Also, the random phenomena; see, for example, Everitt and Hand (1981), use of t components gives less extreme estimates of the pos- Titterington, Smith and Makov (1985), McLachlan and Basford terior probabilities of component membership of the mixture (1988), Lindsay (1995), and B¨ohning (1999).