Entropy of a smooth periodic function ball 2026-10-14
For the unit ball of measured in the uniform metric, . The lower bound uses disjoint bump functions of spatial scale , height proportional to and independently chosen zero/one coefficients: there are functions separated at scale . For the upper bound, Multivariable Jackson approximation gives a trigonometric polynomial of degree . Its coefficients are bounded and can be rounded with coefficient accuracy proportional to divided by the coefficient count. Counting those rounded coefficient arrays supplies the logarithmic factor. The continuous-function unit ball without derivative bounds has infinite entropy for , by an infinite sequence of disjoint height-one bumps.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 8 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use and the uniform metric . Let be the least number of radius- balls in this metric covering . The Kolmogorov entropy, equivalently metric entropy, isIt is infinite if no finite cover exists; set the entropy of the empty set to zero. Changing the logarithm base or requiring centres in changes only the constants and resolution factors in the estimates below.
For an explicit appropriate norm, takeAn equivalent standard norm gives the same exponents, with different constants. We prove the two bounds for the entropy of a smooth periodic function ball separately.
For the lower bound, choose a nonnegative bump function with and . Let bound all its derivatives of orders at most , and choose with . For sufficiently small , place translates of its scaled support disjointly on the torus, for instance by taking grid centres separated by in a fundamental cube. Define the real functionsusing periodic extension. Disjointness means that at any point only one summand contributes. For every , its derivative is bounded by . Thus every lies in . If , evaluate at a centre where the binary coefficients differ to obtainChoose for sufficiently small . The functions are more than apart, so no radius- ball covers two of them. The metric covering number consequently satisfiesTo include the remaining , observe that the two constant functions belong to the ball and require distinct covering balls. Reducing the positive lower-bound constant extends the estimate over that fixed remaining interval.
For the upper bound, use this precise version of multivariable Jackson approximation: for every and integer , there exists a real trigonometric polynomial with in every coordinate andChoose . Then the approximation error is at most , and . Write . There are coefficients, and normalized integration gives .
Round their real and imaginary parts with mesh , respecting so the rounded polynomial remains real. Each coefficient changes by at most , and hence the uniform change in the polynomial is at most . At most choices are needed; allowing redundant choices only enlarges this bound. These rounded polynomials form an -net for the ball, andHere , and the last logarithm absorbs the constant and for . Together the bounds give
For the unit ball of alone, take infinitely many disjoint small neighbourhoods and a height-one continuous bump supported in each. Distinct such functions have uniform distance one. Thus no finite -net exists when , andThe derivative bound was essential for total boundedness; mere continuity gives no common small-scale oscillation bound.
For the final composition estimate, interpret outer periodic functions on by their -periodic extensions to . Since , each satisfiesby integrating its first partial derivatives along coordinate segments. This uniform Lipschitz continuity controls errors in the inner functions.
Choose an outer net of radius for and an inner net of radius for . For each choose corresponding approximants . No derivative bound for is needed: use the derivative bound of before replacing the outer function. Pointwise,All composed centres are continuous. Multiplying the numbers of outer and inner choices gives the entropy of Lipschitz compositions inequalityApply the proved upper bound with dimension , and the assumed estimate for . Fixed rescalings of preserve its exponent and change by only an additive constant. Therefore