Poisson approximation

Abstract

We overview results on the topic of Poisson approximation that are missed in existing surveys. The topic of Poisson approximation to the distribution of a sum of integer-valued random variables is presented as well. We do not restrict ourselves to a particular method, and overview the whole range of issues including the general limit theorem, estimates of the accuracy of approximation, asymptotic expansions, etc. Related results on the accuracy of compound Poisson approximation are presented as well. We indicate a number of open problems and discuss directions of further research.