Density estimation for circular data observed with errors

Until now the problem of estimating circular densities when data are observed with errors has been mainly treated by Fourier series methods. We propose kernel‐based estimators exhibiting simple construction and easy implementation. Specifically, we consider three different approaches: the first one is based on the equivalence between kernel estimators using data corrupted with different levels of error. This proposal appears to be totally unexplored, despite its potential for application also in the Euclidean setting. The second approach relies on estimators whose weight functions are circular deconvolution kernels. Due to the periodicity of the involved densities, it requires ad hoc mathematical tools. Finally, the third one is based on the idea of correcting extra bias of kernel estimators which use contaminated data and is essentially an adaptation of the standard theory to the circular case. For all the proposed estimators we derive asymptotic properties, provide some simulation results, and also discuss some possible generalizations and extensions. Real data case studies are also included.