Completely positive entropy 2026-10-05
A probability measure-preserving system has completely positive entropy if for every finite measurable partition with . Equivalently, its Pinsker sigma-algebra is trivial. Since finite partitions measurable in a partition tail have zero entropy rate, this property forces every finite-partition tail sigma-algebra of a measurable partition to be trivial.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 108 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a probability measure-preserving system, the hypothesis is completely positive entropy: every finite measurable partition with positive static entropy of a finite measurable partition has positive entropy rate of a measurable partition. Fix a finite partition and putAll sigma-algebras are interpreted modulo null sets. We will prove that every finite partition measurable with respect to this tail sigma-algebra of a measurable partition has . Applying this to a binary partition will force the required triviality. This proves the needed direction of the Tail characterization of the Pinsker sigma-algebra directly, including noninvertible transformations.
Write . The infinite-future entropy formula and the backwards chain rule for information entropy give, for every , the block conditional entropy given the infinite future identityEach term equals by invariance of the joint probabilities under a common pullback and continuity of conditional entropy under increasing finite future blocks. Invertibility is not needed for this identity.
Fix . Since is -measurable and finite, the martingale convergence theorem and continuity of finite-partition conditional entropy allow an withTo see the continuity explicitly, for each partition atom of the conditional probabilities tend to almost everywhere; apply dominated convergence theorem to the bounded continuous function on and sum over the finitely many partition atoms.
For set , , and . The conditional entropy of finite measurable partitions satisfiesThe second inequality uses conditioning reduces entropy, since refines each block ; the final equality uses measure preservation.
Moreover is -measurable. For each , tail measurability gives measurable with respect to , hence measurable with respect to . Thus conditioning reduces entropy and the displayed block identity implyUse the symmetric entropy identity to obtainThe fraction on the right tends to zero: is fixed and by the definition of entropy rate of a measurable partition. Taking and then gives
Now let and take . If , its binary entropy is , while its entropy rate is zero, contradicting completely positive entropy. ThereforeSince was arbitrary, every finite-partition tail is trivial. The argument needs only that is finite and the measure is a probability; it does not assume a finite generator, finite total system entropy, or invertibility.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 108 4 Solution 2026-10-03
For a finite partition , putThe system is K-mixing when every measurable becomes uniformly asymptotically independent of this remote future:Taking makes , soThus K-mixing implies mixing.
The tail sigma-algebra of a measurable partition isBy the reverse martingale convergence theorem,in . The uniform independence in the definition of K-mixing is equivalent to the limit being the constant for every . This holds exactly when every -measurable set has measure zero or one. Hence the system is K-mixing if and only if every finite partition has trivial tail sigma-algebra.
Let . Complements preserve the binary partition. If , then is coarser than , so subadditivity gives zero entropy rate. Thus is an algebra. For , let . The entropy metric continuity boundtends to zero because . Hence , proving that is a sigma-algebra: the Pinsker sigma-algebra.
If belongs modulo null sets to for a finite , remote-future approximations make the entropy rate of zero. Conversely, if , the conditional-entropy formula for entropy rate givesThus is measurable modulo null sets from its strict future. Iterating this fact makes it measurable from every remote future, so modulo null sets. ThereforeThis is the Tail characterization of the Pinsker sigma-algebra.