Asymptotic distributions for the intervals estimators of the extremal index and the cluster-size probabilities

Under appropriate long range dependence conditions. the point process of exceedances of a stationary sequence weakly converges to a homogeneous compound Poisson point process. This limiting point process can be characterized by the extremal index and the cluster-size probabilities. In this paper we address the problem of estimating these quantities and we consider the intervals estimators introduced in Ferro and Segers [2003. Inference for clusters of extreme values. J. Roy. Statist. Soc. Set. B 545-556] and in Ferro [2004. Statistical methods for clusters of extreme values. Ph.D. Thesis, Lancaster University]. We establish asymptotic weak convergence to Gaussian random variables and we give their asymptotic variance. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.