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I have a collection of $(x,y,z)$ data points. I want to compute the mean, $\mu$, and variance, $\sigma^2$, along each axis, as well as the errors on each. I know that the standard error of the mean is $\Delta \mu = \sigma / \sqrt{N}$, but I'm not familiar with any methods to estimate the error of the variance, $\Delta (\sigma^2)$. Is there a method to estimate the error of the variance?

In case it makes a difference: I expect the data to be a 3D Gaussian, but I expect the variance to be different along different axes (i.e. $\sigma_x^2 \ne \sigma_y^2 \ne \sigma_z^2$).

The reason I'm looking for this is that the coordinates are the positions of particles that are expected to obey an advection-diffusion law, the means are related to the advection velocity, and the variances are related to the diffusion coefficients.

Brendan
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  • what is the underlying equation describing your phenomenon? – Aksakal May 11 '15 at 20:33
  • That's what I'm trying to find out. I believe I will have an advection-diffusion equation: df/dt = d/dx(v f) + d/dx(D df/dx). However, I generate my coordinates using something like a simplified Monte Carlo method subject to Lorentz forces. The theory is that this will yield an advection-diffusion equation under certain conditions. That being said: Analyzing the distribution to see if my data matches the expected behavior is a broader question. What I'm hoping to learn here is how to estimate the error of the variance (assuming a 3D Gaussian distribution if necessary). – Brendan May 11 '15 at 20:38
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    There are some related threads on the site. I don't know if any of these will answer your question, but you may want to take a look: [Variance of sample Variance](http://stats.stackexchange.com/q/79808/7290); [SD of SD](http://stats.stackexchange.com/q/631/7290); [Why is chi square used to a CI for the variance?](http://stats.stackexchange.com/q/76444/7290); [Calculating required N, precision of variance estimate](http://stats.stackexchange.com/q/7004/7290); & [What is the distribution of the variance of a sample from an unknown distribution?](http://stats.stackexchange.com/q/29902/7290) – gung - Reinstate Monica May 11 '15 at 21:12

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