Finding universal relations using statistical data analysis
Praveen Manoharan, Kostas D. Kokkotas
Abstract
We present applications of statistical data analysis methods from both bivariate and multivariate statistics to find suitable sets of neutron star features that can be leveraged for accurate and equation of state independent---or universal---relations. To this end, we investigate the ability of various correlation measures such as distance correlation and mutual information in identifying universally related pairs of neutron star features. We also evaluate relations produced by methods of multivariate statistics such as principal component analysis to assess their suitability for producing universal relations with multiple independent variables. As part of our analyses, we also put forward multiple entirely novel relations, including a multivariate relation for the $f$-mode frequency of neutron stars with a reduced average relative error of 0.010, compared to an error of 0.015 of existing, bivariate relations.