Inference for cluster point processes with over- or under-dispersed cluster sizes

Abstract

Cluster point processes comprise a class of models that have been used for a wide range of applications. While several models have been studied for the probability density function of the offspring displacements and the parent point process, there are few examples of non-Poisson distributed cluster sizes. In this paper, we introduce a generalization of the Thomas process, which allows for the cluster sizes to have a variance that is greater or less than the expected value. We refer to this as the cluster sizes being over- and under-dispersed, respectively. To fit the model, we introduce minimum contrast methods and a Bayesian MCMC algorithm. These are evaluated in a simulation study. It is found that using the Bayesian MCMC method, we are in most cases able to detect over- and under-dispersion in the cluster sizes. We use the MCMC method to fit the model to nerve fiber data, and contrast the results to those of a fitted Thomas process.