Local functional principal component analysis

Abstract

Covariance operators of random functions are crucial tools to study the way random elements concentrate over their support. The principal component analysis of a random function X is well-known from a theoretical viewpoint and extensively used in practical situations. In this work we focus on local covariance operators. They provide some pieces of information about the distribution of X around a fixed point of the space x₀. A description of the asymptotic behaviour of the theoretical and empirical counterparts is carried out. Asymptotic developments are given under assumptions on the location of x₀ and on the distributions of projections of the data on the eigenspaces of the (non-local) covariance operator.