English

Log-concavity and the maximum entropy property of the Poisson distribution

Probability 2010-08-17 v2

Abstract

We prove that the Poisson distribution maximises entropy in the class of ultra-log-concave distributions, extending a result of Harremo\"{e}s. The proof uses ideas concerning log-concavity, and a semigroup action involving adding Poisson variables and thinning. We go on to show that the entropy is a concave function along this semigroup.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.math/0603647,
  title  = {Log-concavity and the maximum entropy property of the Poisson distribution},
  author = {Oliver Johnson},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:math/0603647},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

16 pages: revised version, accepted by Stochastic Processes and their Applications