On eigenvalues of sample covariance matrices based on high dimensional compositional data

Abstract: This paper studies the asymptotic spectral properties of the sample covariance matrix for high dimensional compositional data, including the limiting spectral distribution, the limit of extreme eigenvalues, and the central limit theorem for linear spectral statistics. All asymptotic results are derived under the high-dimensional regime where the data dimension increases to infinity proportionally with the sample size. The findings reveal that the limiting spectral distribution is the well-known Marchenko-Pastur law. The largest (or smallest non-zero) eigenvalue converges almost surely to the left (or right) endpoint of the limiting spectral distribution, respectively. Moreover, the linear spectral statistics demonstrate a Gaussian limit. Simulation experiments demonstrate the accuracy of theoretical results.