# Log-Normal distribution¶

## Story¶

If $$\ln y$$ is Normally distributed, then y is Log-Normally distributed.

## Example¶

A measure of fold change in gene expression can be Log-Normally distributed.

## Parameters¶

As for the Normal distribution, there are two parameters, the location parameter $$\mu$$ and the scale parameter $$\sigma$$. Note that $$\mu$$ is the mean of $$\ln y$$, not of $$y$$ itself. That is, $$\langle\ln y\rangle_{\mathrm{LogNorm}} = \mu$$. Similarly, $$\langle(\ln y - \mu)^2\rangle_{\mathrm{LogNorm}} = \sigma^2$$.

## Support¶

The Log-Normal distribution is supported on the set of positive real numbers.

## Probability density function¶

\begin{align} f(y;\mu, \sigma) = \frac{1}{y\sqrt{2\pi\sigma^2}}\,\mathrm{e}^{-(\ln y-\mu)^2/2\sigma^2}. \end{align}

## Moments¶

Mean: $$\displaystyle{\mathrm{e}^{\mu + \sigma^2/2}}$$

Variance: $$\left(\mathrm{e}^{\sigma^2} - 1\right)\mathrm{e}^{2\mu + \sigma^2}$$

## Usage¶

Package

Syntax

NumPy

rg.lognormal(mu, sigma)

SciPy

scipy.stats.lognorm(sigma, loc=0, scale=np.exp(mu))

Stan

lognormal(mu, sigma)

## Notes¶

• Be careful not to get confused. The Log-Normal distribution describes the distribution of $$y$$ given that $$\ln y$$ is Normally distributed. It does not describe the distribution of $$\ln y$$.

• The way location, scale, and shape parameters work in SciPy for the Log-Normal distribution is confusing. If you want to specify a Log-Normal distribution as we have defined it using scipy.stats, use a shape parameter equal to $$\sigma$$, a location parameter of zero, and a scale parameter given by $$\mathrm{e}^\mu$$. For example, to compute the PDF, you would use scipy.stats.lognorm.pdf(y, sigma, loc=0, scale=np.exp(mu)).