Under the finite-alphabet, positive-reference, closed-convex set assumptions above, every feasible law satisfiesThus a feasible law's excess relative entropy above the optimum is at least its relative entropy from the optimizer. The information projection supplies a quantitative comparison with every other feasible law, not merely the location of a minimum.[ref]
For affine expected value constraints, the result becomes a Pythagorean identity for relative entropy. In relative entropy minimization under a mean constraint, the logarithm of is an affine function of the outcome . Any feasible has the same normalization and mean as , making the residual in the three-point identity for relative entropy zero.[ref]
Recession cone 2026-10-06
The recession cone of a nonempty convex set consists of directions for which for every and . For a linear polyhedron it is exactly . A nonzero recession direction gives an unbounded ray, so a bounded nonempty polyhedron has recession cone . This excludes spurious zero-scale feasible points in the Charnes-Cooper transformation.
Schauder approximation lemma Created 2026-10-25 Updated 2026-10-31
Let be a nonempty compact convex set in a Banach space and a continuous map. For every , there is a finite-dimensional linear subspace and a continuous map that approximates uniformly to within in norm.
Choose whose open radius- balls cover the compact image . Set andThe denominator is positive. This convex combination belongs to and depends continuously on . Every contributing has distance less than from , so the triangle inequality gives .
Schauder fixed-point theorem 2026-10-24
Every continuous map from a nonempty compact convex set in a Banach space to itself has a fixed point. A useful equivalent form takes a nonempty closed bounded convex set and a continuous map whose image is relatively compact. To obtain this version from the compact-domain version, restrict to and use closed convex hull of a compact set.
For a proof on , the Schauder approximation lemma gives continuous maps with finite-dimensional and . The Brouwer fixed-point theorem on the nonempty compact convex set gives , so . A convergent subsequence as and the continuity of give an exact fixed point.
Separation from an absorbing convex set 2026-10-14
If a convex set in a real normed vector space contains , every admits a continuous linear functional with for all , even if is not closed. Its Minkowski functional is sublinear functional, satisfies , , and . Extend by the dominated Hahn-Banach theorem. The resulting domination applied to and makes continuous and supplies the separation inequalities.
Sequentially weakly closed set 2026-10-25
A subset of a normed space is sequentially weakly closed when every weakly convergent sequence in has its limit in . Every weakly closed set has this property. For a convex set in a Banach space, it is equivalent to closure in the norm topology: Mazur lemma produces norm convergent convex combinations from any weakly convergent sequence, and conversely norm convergence implies weak convergence. For a Hilbert space, the weak Banach–Saks theorem in a Hilbert space supplies these convex combinations as subsequence averages. No equivalence with weak closedness is asserted here for arbitrary nonconvex sets.
Shapley value belongs to the core of a convex game Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-14
Increasing marginal contributions imply for . Summing telescopes to , while efficiency follows by telescoping over the full ordering. Hence every marginal contribution vector is in the core of a cooperative game. The core is a convex set, so their average, the Shapley value, is in it too. This gives an elementary proof of nonemptiness and stability for a convex cooperative game.
Strict concavity 2026-10-06
Strict concavity is the displayed property for distinct in a convex set and . It makes a stationary point of a differentiable function its unique global maximum, whenever such a stationary point exists.
Strictly convex function Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
For a nonempty closed convex set , the finite-valued support function has subgradients exactly at the maximizing points of . This follows from Fenchel–Young inequality and the conjugacy between the support function and the indicator functional of a constraint set. For compact , the exposed maximizing set is nonempty.
Supporting hyperplane 2026-10-18
For a convex set and , a supporting hyperplane has a nonzero normal vector such that for all . It touches while containing the set on one side.
Supporting hyperplane theorem 2026-10-14
A convex set in a finite-dimensional space has a nonzero supporting linear functional at each boundary point. If zero lies outside a nonempty convex set , weak separation gives with for all , even when zero belongs to its closure. Strict separation needs stronger hypotheses.
For a differentiable real-valued function on an open convex set, convexity is equivalent to the displayed inequality for all in its domain. To prove the forward direction, convexity gives for . Take the limit as using first-order Taylor expansion.
Conversely, put and apply the supporting inequality at to both and . Multiply the two inequalities by and and add them. The gradient terms cancel because , leaving . This is the defining convexity inequality. The endpoint values hold as equalities.
Let be a convex set in a real Banach space, and let be a strongly monotone operator. If both satisfy the displayed variational inequality, testing with and respectively and adding yields . Strong monotonicity gives , hence . This proves uniqueness whenever a solution exists.
Upper half-plane (complex analysis) Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The upper half-plane is the open setIt contains precisely the complex numbers with positive imaginary part: is inside, lies on its boundary, and belongs to the lower half-plane. In the complex plane its boundary is the real line; in the Riemann sphere the boundary also includes infinity. It is a convex set, hence a simply connected domain, and the Cayley transform between the half-plane and disk makes it biholomorphic to the unit disc.
With the hyperbolic metric , the same domain becomes the Poincaré half-plane model. Its hyperbolic geodesics are vertical lines and upper semicircles whose centres lie on the real line. Under the Cayley transform, these become arcs of circles orthogonal to the unit circle, with diameters as the straight-line cases. [ref]
Boundary points and hyperbolic geodesics correspond under the Cayley transform from the upper half-plane to the unit disc
. Details. Matching colours identify each hyperbolic geodesic and its image. The vertical line through zero maps to a diameter; the vertical line through one maps to an arc ending at and . A semicircle from to also maps to a diameter, whereas the semicircle from to maps to a curved arc. Their endpoints lie on the boundary, outside the domains: the endpoints are infinitely far from interior points in hyperbolic distance.
The upper half-plane is useful because its straight boundary and explicit upper half-plane automorphisms make conformal maps and hyperbolic geometry calculable. The picture explains why shortest hyperbolic geodesic routes can look curved in Euclidean coordinates; their lengths are measured with the position-dependent hyperbolic metric.
For historical context, in his letter to Klein of 22 September 1882, Poincaré constructs a quadrilateral bounded by four circles orthogonal to a fundamental circle, and studies transformations generating repeated copies. In modern language, the sides inside that circle are hyperbolic geodesics in a disk model. The letter directly exhibits the connection between transformation groups, geometry and complex functions. [ref]
https://henripoincarepapers.univ-nantes.fr/chp/text/klein-en-1882-09-22.html. Poincaré to Klein, 22 September 1882, English translation, opening construction
Weighted logarithmic utility 2026-10-05
The utility sums logarithmic utilities over individual flows. Its first-order condition gives proportional fairness. Its negative is a strictly convex function on active flow rates, giving uniqueness of those rates on a convex set of feasible allocations.
