Related papers: Some inequalities on Binomial and Poisson probabil…

Let X1, ..., Xn be arbitrary non-negative independent random variables with respective expected values $\mu_{i}$ at most one. We sketch but do not prove an equivalent conjecture to Feige's Conjecture $\mathbb{P} \left( \sum_{i=1}^{n} X_{i}…

We give exponential upper bounds for $P(S \le k)$, in particular $P(S=0)$, where $S$ is a sum of indicator random variables that are positively associated. These bounds allow, in particular, a comparison with the independent case. We give…

Let $X$ count the number of $r$-stars in the random binomial graph $\mathbb{G}(n,p)$. We determine, for fixed $r$ and $\varepsilon > 0$, the asymptotics of $\log \mathbb{P}(X \ge (1 + \varepsilon)\mathbb{E} X)$ assuming only $\mathbb{E} X…

Let $X$ be a random variable distributed according to the binomial distribution with parameters $n$ and $p$. It is shown that $P(X>EX)\ge1/4$ if $1>p\ge c/n$, where $c:=\ln(4/3)$, the best possible constant factor.

Let $\{\xi_1,\xi_2,\ldots\}$ be a sequence of independent but not necessarily identically distributed random variables. In this paper, the sufficient conditions are found under which the tail probability…

The exact expression for the probability density $p_{_N}(x)$ for sums of a finite number $N$ of random independent terms is obtained. It is shown that the very tail of $p_{_N}(x)$ has a Gaussian form if and only if all the random terms are…

Let $b(x)$ be the probability that a sum of independent Bernoulli random variables with parameters $p_1, p_2, p_3, \ldots \in [0,1)$ equals $x$, where $\lambda := p_1 + p_2 + p_3 + \cdots$ is finite. We prove two inequalities for the…

We give a simple inequality for the sum of independent bounded random variables. This inequality improves on the celebrated result of Hoeffding in a special case. It is optimal in the limit where the sum tends to a Poisson random variable.

Let S_n=X_1+...+X_n be a sum of independent symmetric random variables such that |X_{i}|\leq 1. Denote by W_n=\epsilon_{1}+...+\epsilon_{n} a sum of independent random variables such that \prob{\eps_i = \pm 1} = 1/2. We prove that…

A {\em maximal inequality} seeks to estimate $\mathbb{E}\max_i X_i$ in terms of properties of the $X_i$. When the latter are independent, the union bound (in its various guises) can yield tight upper bounds. If, however, the $X_i$ are…

Let $X$ be the number of $k$-term arithmetic progressions contained in the $p$-biased random subset of the first $N$ positive integers. We give asymptotically sharp estimates on the logarithmic upper-tail probability $\log \Pr(X \ge E[X] +…

We determine the probability $P$ of two independent events $A$ and $B$, which occur randomly $n_A$ and $n_B$ times during a total time $T$ and last for $t_A$ and $t_B$, to occur simultaneously at some point during $T$. Therefore we first…

A well-known discovery of Feige's is the following: Let $X_1, \ldots, X_n$ be nonnegative independent random variables, with $\mathbb{E}[X_i] \leq 1 \;\forall i$, and let $X = \sum_{i=1}^n X_i$. Then for any $n$, \[\Pr[X < \mathbb{E}[X] +…

We give conditions under which a scalar random variable T can be coupled to a random scaling factor $\xi$ such that T and $\xi$T are rendered stochastically independent. A similar result is obtained for random measures. One consequence is a…

Known Bernstein-type upper bounds on the tail probabilities for sums of independent zero-mean sub-exponential random variables are improved in several ways at once. The new upper bounds have a certain optimality property.

In a celebrated work by Hoeffding [J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 58 (1963) 13-30], several inequalities for tail probabilities of sums M_n=X_1+... +X_n of bounded independent random variables X_j were proved. These inequalities had a…

Let $X_1,X_2,...$ be a sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables, and put $S_n=X_1+...+X_n$. Under some conditions on the positive sequence $\tau_n$ and the positive increasing sequence $a_n$, we give necessary…

We develop a theory of formal multivariate polynomials over commutative rings by treating them as ring terms. Our main result is that two ring terms are s-equivalent (when expanded they yield the same standard polynomial) iff they are…

We generalise the known fact that for binomial $X_{n,k} \sim \mathrm{Bin}(n, k/n)$ one has $\inf_{k>1,n} \mathrm{P}(X_{n,k} \geq k) \geq \lim_{k \to 1+}\mathrm{P}(X_{2,k} \geq k) = 1/4$ to cover probabilities of exceeding a constant shift…

Let $\{X_t, t \geq 1\}$ be a sequence of identically distributed and pairwise asymptotically independent random variables with regularly varying tails and $\{ \Theta_t, t\geq1 \}$ be a sequence of positive random variables independent of…