% File src/library/stats/man/Beta.Rd % Part of the R package, http://www.R-project.org % Copyright 1995-2007 R Core Development Team % Distributed under GPL 2 or later \name{Beta} \alias{Beta} \alias{dbeta} \alias{pbeta} \alias{qbeta} \alias{rbeta} \title{The Beta Distribution} \concept{incomplete beta function} \description{ Density, distribution function, quantile function and random generation for the Beta distribution with parameters \code{shape1} and \code{shape2} (and optional non-centrality parameter \code{ncp}). } \usage{ dbeta(x, shape1, shape2, ncp = 0, log = FALSE) pbeta(q, shape1, shape2, ncp = 0, lower.tail = TRUE, log.p = FALSE) qbeta(p, shape1, shape2, ncp = 0, lower.tail = TRUE, log.p = FALSE) rbeta(n, shape1, shape2, ncp = 0) } \arguments{ \item{x, q}{vector of quantiles.} \item{p}{vector of probabilities.} \item{n}{number of observations. If \code{length(n) > 1}, the length is taken to be the number required.} \item{shape1, shape2}{positive parameters of the Beta distribution.} \item{ncp}{non-centrality parameter.} \item{log, log.p}{logical; if TRUE, probabilities p are given as log(p).} \item{lower.tail}{logical; if TRUE (default), probabilities are \eqn{P[X \le x]}{P[X <= x]}, otherwise, \eqn{P[X > x]}{P[X > x]}.} } \details{ The Beta distribution with parameters \code{shape1} \eqn{= a} and \code{shape2} \eqn{= b} has density \deqn{f(x)=\frac{\Gamma(a+b)}{\Gamma(a)\Gamma(b)}{x}^{a} {(1-x)}^{b}% }{Gamma(a+b)/(Gamma(a)Gamma(b))x^(a-1)(1-x)^(b-1)} for \eqn{a > 0}, \eqn{b > 0} and \eqn{0 \le x \le 1}{0 <= x <= 1} where the boundary values at \eqn{x=0} or \eqn{x=1} are defined as by continuity (as limits). \cr The mean is \eqn{a/(a+b)} and the variance is \eqn{ab/((a+b)^2 (a+b+1))}. \code{pbeta} is closely related to the incomplete beta function. As defined by Abramowitz and Stegun 6.6.1 \deqn{B_x(a,b) = \int_0^x t^{a-1} (1-t)^{b-1} dt,}{B_x(a,b) = integral_0^x t^(a-1) (1-t)^(b-1) dt,} and 6.6.2 \eqn{I_x(a,b) = B_x(a,b) / B(a,b)} where \eqn{B(a,b) = B_1(a,b)} is the Beta function (\code{\link{beta}}). \eqn{I_x(a,b)} is \code{pbeta(x,a,b)}. The non-central Beta distribution is defined (Johnson et al, 1995, pp. 502) as the distribution of \eqn{X/(X+Y)} where \eqn{X \sim \chi^2_{2a}(\lambda)}{X ~ chi^2_2a(lambda)} and \eqn{Y \sim \chi^2_{2b}}{Y ~ chi^2_2b}. } \value{ \code{dbeta} gives the density, \code{pbeta} the distribution function, \code{qbeta} the quantile function, and \code{rbeta} generates random deviates. Invalid arguments will result in return value \code{NaN}, with a warning. } \source{ The central \code{dbeta} is based on a binomial probability, using code contributed by Catherine Loader (see \code{\link{dbinom}}) if either shape parameter is larger than one, otherwise directly from the definition. The non-central case is based on the derivation as a Poisson mixture of betas (Johnson \emph{et al}, 1995, pp. 502--3). The central \code{pbeta} uses a C translation of Didonato, A. and Morris, A., Jr, (1992) Algorithm 708: Significant digit computation of the incomplete beta function ratios, \emph{ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software}, \bold{18}, 360--373. (See also\crBrown, B. and Lawrence Levy, L. (1994) Certification of algorithm 708: Significant digit computation of the incomplete beta, \emph{ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software}, \bold{20}, 393--397.) The non-central \code{pbeta} uses a C translation of Lenth, R. V. (1987) Algorithm AS226: Computing noncentral beta probabilities. \emph{Appl. Statist}, \bold{36}, 241--244,\cr incorporating AS R84 (1990), \emph{Appl. Statist}, \bold{39}, 311--2. \code{qbeta} is based on a C translation of Cran, G. W., K. J. Martin and G. E. Thomas (1977). Remark AS R19 and Algorithm AS 109, \emph{Applied Statistics}, \bold{26}, 111--114, and subsequent remarks (AS83 and correction). \code{rbeta} is based on a C translation of R. C. H. Cheng (1978). Generating beta variates with nonintegral shape parameters. \emph{Communications of the ACM}, \bold{21}, 317--322. } \references{ Becker, R. A., Chambers, J. M. and Wilks, A. R. (1988) \emph{The New S Language}. Wadsworth \& Brooks/Cole. Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I. A. (1972) \emph{Handbook of Mathematical Functions.} New York: Dover. Chapter 6: Gamma and Related Functions. Johnson, N. L., Kotz, S. and Balakrishnan, N. (1995) \emph{Continuous Univariate Distributions}, volume 2, especially chapter 25. Wiley, New York. } \seealso{ \code{\link{beta}} for the Beta function, and \code{\link{dgamma}} for the Gamma distribution. } \examples{ x <- seq(0, 1, length=21) dbeta(x, 1, 1) pbeta(x, 1, 1) } \keyword{distribution}