Gaussian limits for generalized spacings

Nearest neighbor cells in R ^d,d ∈ ℕ, are used to define coefficients of divergence (φ-divergences) between continuous multivariate samples. For large sample sizes, such distances are shown to be asymptotically normal with a variance depending on the underlying point density. In d = 1, this extends classical central limit theory for sum functions of spacings. The general results yield central limit theorems for logarithmic k-spacings, information gain, log-likelihood ratios and the number of pairs of sample points within a fixed distance of each other.