Nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation of the cumulative distribution function with multivariate interval censored data : computation, identifiability and bounds

This thesis addresses nonparametric maximal likelihood (NPML) estimation of the cumulative distribution function (CDF) given multivariate interval censored data (MILD). The methodology consists in applying graph theory to the intersection graph of censored data. The maximal cliques of this graph and their real representations contain all the information needed to find NPML estimates (NPMLE). In this thesis, a new algorithm to determine the maximal cliques of an MICD set is introduced. The concepts of diameter and semi-diameter of the polytope formed by all NPMLEs are introduced and simulation to investigate the properties of the non-uniqueness polytope of the CDF NPMLEs for bivariate censored data is described. Also, an a priori bounding technique for the total mass attributed to a set of maximal cliques by a self-consistent estimate of the CDF (including the NPMLE) is presented