Local inhomogeneous second-order characteristics for spatio-temporal point processes occurring on linear networks

Abstract

Point processes on linear networks are increasingly being considered to analyse events occurring on particular network-based structures. In this paper, we extend Local Indicators of Spatio-Temporal Association (LISTA) functions to the non-Euclidean space of linear networks, allowing to obtain information on how events relate to nearby events. In particular, we propose the local version of two inhomogeneous second-order statistics for spatio-temporal point processes on linear networks, the K- and the pair correlation functions. We put particular emphasis on the local K-functions, deriving come theoretical results which enable us to show that these LISTA functions are useful for diagnostics of models specified on networks, and can be helpful to assess the goodness-of-fit of different spatio-temporal models fitted to point patterns occurring on linear networks. Our methods do not rely on any particular model assumption on the data, and thus they can be applied for whatever is the underlying model of the process. We finally present a real data analysis of traffic accidents in Medellin (Colombia).