English

On the probability that a binomial variable is at most its expectation

Probability 2020-10-20 v2

Abstract

Consider the probability that a binomial random variable Bi(n,m/n)(n,m/n) with integer expectation mm is at most its expectation. Chv\'atal conjectured that for any given nn, this probability is smallest when mm is the integer closest to 2n/32n/3. We show that this holds when nn is large.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2009.13781,
  title  = {On the probability that a binomial variable is at most its expectation},
  author = {Svante Janson},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2009.13781},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

12 pages. v2: typos corrected

R2 v1 2026-06-23T18:52:06.140Z