Fixed-order PCA: Theory for Overestimated Factor Models (opens in new tab)

We develop asymptotic theory for principal component analysis (PCA) of a high-dimensional factor model in which the working dimension $R$ is fixed and only required to satisfy $R \ge r$, where $r$ is the true number of factors. Building on anisotropic local laws from random matrix theory, we show that the ``extra'' empirical eigencomponents beyond the $r$-th are asymptotically noise-governed, incoherent, and nearly orthogonal to the factor loadi...