Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 224 3 a Solution 2026-09-28
The three-point identity for relative entropy isIt follows by expanding and collecting logarithms. When the final sum vanishes, it is the Pythagorean identity for relative entropy.
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]