[Math] Definite integral of a product of normal pdf and cdf

calculusintegration

Denote the pdf of the standard normal distribution as $\phi(x)$ and cdf as $\Phi(x)$. Does anyone know how to calculate $\int_{-\infty}^y \phi(x)\Phi(\frac{x−b}{a})dx$?

Notice that this question is similar to an existing one,

https://mathoverflow.net/questions/101469/integration-of-the-product-of-pdf-cdf-of-normal-distribution

the only difference being that I'm computing the integral over $(-\infty, y)$ for some real $y$, rather than over the entire real line.

Thank you!

Best Answer

As already explained, when $a\gt0$ the full integral is $1-\Phi\left(b/\sqrt{a^2+1}\right)$. The same approach shows that the integral considered here is $$ I(y)=P(Y\leqslant(X-b)/a,X\leqslant y), $$ where $(X,Y)$ are i.i.d. standard normal, that is, $$ I(y)=P(aY+b\leqslant X\leqslant y). $$ I see no reason to expect more explicit formulas.

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