The variance-gamma distribution, generalized Laplace distribution or Bessel function distribution is a continuous probability distribution that is defined as the normal variance-mean mixture where the mixing density

Mixture density

In probability and statistics, a mixture distribution is the probability distribution of a random variable whose values can be interpreted as being derived in a simple way from an underlying set of other random variables. In particular, the final outcome value is selected at random from among the...

 is the gamma distribution. The tails of the distribution decrease more slowly than the normal distribution. It is therefore suitable to model phenomena where numerically large values are more probable than is the case for the normal distribution. Examples are returns from financial assets and turbulent wind speeds. The distribution was introduced in the financial literature by Madan and Seneta. The variance-gamma distributions form a subclass of the generalised hyperbolic distributions.

The fact that there is a simple expression for the moment generating function implies that simple expressions for all moments

Moment (mathematics)

In mathematics, a moment is, loosely speaking, a quantitative measure of the shape of a set of points. The "second moment", for example, is widely used and measures the "width" of a set of points in one dimension or in higher dimensions measures the shape of a cloud of points as it could be fit by...

 are available. The class of variance-gamma distributions is closed under convolution

Convolution

In mathematics and, in particular, functional analysis, convolution is a mathematical operation on two functions f and g, producing a third function that is typically viewed as a modified version of one of the original functions. Convolution is similar to cross-correlation...

 in the following sense. If and are independent

Statistical independence

In probability theory, to say that two events are independent intuitively means that the occurrence of one event makes it neither more nor less probable that the other occurs...

 random variable

Random variable

In probability and statistics, a random variable or stochastic variable is, roughly speaking, a variable whose value results from a measurement on some type of random process. Formally, it is a function from a probability space, typically to the real numbers, which is measurable functionmeasurable...

s that are variance-gamma distributed with the same values of the parameters and , but possibly different values of the other parameters, , and , respectively, then is variance-gamma distributed with parameters and

See also Variance gamma process

Variance gamma process

In the theory of stochastic processes, a part of the mathematical theory of probability, the variance gamma process , also known as Laplace motion, is a Lévy process determined by a random time change. The process has finite moments distinguishing it from many Lévy processes. There is no diffusion...

.