Rates of Convergence for Empirical Processes of Stationary Mixing Sequences

Classical empirical process theory for Vapnik-Cervonenkis classes deals mainly with sequences of independent variables. This paper extends the theory to stationary sequences of dependent variables. It establishes rates of convergence for $\beta$-mixing and $\phi$-mixing empirical processes indexed by classes of functions. The method of proof depends on a coupling of the dependent sequence with sequences of independent blocks, to which the classical theory can be applied. A uniform $O(n^{-s/(1+s)})$ rate of convergence over V-C classes is established for sequences whose mixing coefficients decay slightly faster than $O(n^{-s})$.