Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-information-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/1/b/i/solution
Past exam of the information theory course of the University of Oxford 2021 1 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
For probability mass functions on the finite alphabet, take logarithms to base two and define the relative entropy byA term with is zero, including ; a term with is . Fix and write . For ,Thus is a convex function on by continuous extension to zero. For , applying this scalar convexity to each coordinate and summing provesIf has zero coordinates, the finite-valued domain consists of probability mass functions supported on ; it is convex and the same proof applies there. Outside that domain the right side is infinite whenever an offending probability mass function has a positive mixture weight, so the extended-valued convexity assertion still holds. At mixture weights zero or one the inequality is an identity, without needing the expression .
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