We study a problem of estimating a regression function in a general
nonparametric function class. The errors are assumed to be dependent with
a known covariance matrix. The minimax risk of the function class under
the squared L_2 loss is considered. Minimax rates of convergence are determined
in terms of the massiveness (characterized by metric entropy) of the class
and behavior of the covariance matrix of the errors. It is shown that under
mild conditions, the minimax risk is at the worse rate between two quantities:
the minimax risk of the same class but under the assumption of i.i.d.\
errors, and the minimax risk of estimating the mean of the regression function.
The finding of separate roles of the function class and dependence of errors
is somewhat surprising. Examples of several function classes under different
covariance structures including both short and long range dependences are
given.
Copies of preprints are available from the author upon request.
Use the preprint number (located at the top of the page) and make the
request directly to the author Iowa State University, Department of
Statistics, Snedecor Hall, Ames, IA 50011-1210.