For stable positive detector pixel means and uniform detector conversion gain , high-count independent Poisson distribution noise gives . Thus substituting a global mean in the equal-signal formula yields , by the Jensen inequality. Equality holds for uniform means. The flat-field correction pattern cancels from the ratio mean but not from the signal-dependent noise. Local signal bins, or a variance fit after normalization of differences by the square root of their local mean, avoid this leading bias.
For a measurable event , applying Jensen inequality to separately on and its complement shows that the Kullback-Leibler divergence between two probability measures is at least the divergence between the two event indicators. This reduces a general probability measure comparison to a binary one and is the key step in a proof of Pinsker's inequality.
The logarithm is strictly concave on positive real numbers, as its second derivative is negative. Thus the Jensen inequality gives for a probability measure and an integrable positive , whenever the left side is defined. It also controls the negative logarithmic part of convex combinations of strictly positive functions.
Data processing inequality for f-divergences Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For a measurable function , every f-divergence contracts under pushforward:
This follows from conditional Jensen inequality applied to the jointly convex perspective .
Pairwise disjoint subcubes of fixing coordinates satisfy . By Jensen inequality, their average codimension is at least . Consequently a separating family of disjoint set pairs of total incidence at most , with , has .
For , the Jensen inequality gives
Thus any expectation-maximization algorithm M-step that increases cannot decrease the observed-data likelihood function. Monotonicity does not by itself assert convergence to a global maximum.
Let be a bounded connected Lipschitz domain, , bounded, and bounded and positivity preserving with . Minimize over nonnegative BV space functions. The logarithmic Jensen inequality bounds and variation on sublevels; mean control for positive imaging operators then bounds the full norm. Bounded-variation compactness gives strong convergence, including nonnegativity. The scalar fidelity has bounded derivative on , so continuity of makes its integral continuous in that limit. Lower semicontinuity of variation proves existence by the direct method in the calculus of variations. If almost everywhere and is injective, strict convexity of the fidelity gives uniqueness. For , zero is the unique minimizer even without injectivity, since zero energy forces both and a constant nonnegative .
For variables with the standard normal distribution, the expected maximum of their absolute values is at most , even when they are dependent. Bound the exponential of the maximum by the sum of the signed exponentials, use the normal moment-generating function, then apply Jensen inequality and minimize over the exponential parameter. The resulting logarithmic growth is useful in simultaneous estimation.
For independent and identically distributed random variables with a centered multivariate normal distribution, a continuously differentiable function with bounded gradient, and a convex function for which the expressions are integrable, the displayed inequality holds. First apply Jensen inequality conditionally to . For the Gaussian rotation of independent copies, the chain rule gives . A second application of Jensen inequality to the uniform measure on , followed by the Gaussian rotation of independent copies, proves the inequality. The useful choice yields a Gaussian concentration inequality through an exponential moment of an absolute standard normal variable.
If real and belong to the generator domain of a Feller semigroup, Jensen inequality gives . This expression is zero at , so its right derivative is nonnegative, proving the inequality. It is equivalent to positivity of the carré du champ.
Gibbs--Bogoliubov--Feynman inequality Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-05
For an exact dimensionless Hamiltonian and trial Hamiltonian , the free energies obey
where and the expectation uses the trial Gibbs distribution .
The identity and the Jensen inequality for the convex exponential function give . Taking minus the logarithm proves the bound.
Harmonic mean 2026-10-06
The harmonic mean of positive numbers is . The Jensen inequality for gives , with equality exactly when all entries coincide.
A Borel probability measure is invariant for a Markov kernel semigroup if every transition preserves it. For a Feller semigroup on a compact metric space, it suffices to test the displayed identity on continuous functions. Kernel Jensen inequality gives contraction on , and sup-norm strong continuity followed by density gives strong continuity there for .
For a random variable and exponents , the absolute moment norms satisfy , allowing infinity. For a finite th moment, apply the Jensen inequality to the concave function and . The formula is for positive exponents; requires a separately defined limiting quantity.