A generalization of Boppana's entropy inequality

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Authors: Boon Suan Ho
Cited by: 0

Abstract

In recent progress on the union-closed sets conjecture, a key lemma has been Boppana's entropy inequality: $h(x^2)\geϕxh(x)$, where $ϕ=(1+\sqrt5)/2$ and $h(x)=-x\log x-(1-x)\log(1-x)$. In this note, we prove that the generalized inequality $α_kh(x^k)\ge x^{k-1}h(x)$, first conjectured by Yuster, holds for real $k>1$, where $α_k$ is the unique positive solution to $x(1+x)^{k-1}=1$. This implies an analogue of the union-closed sets conjecture for approximate $k$-union closed set systems. We also formalize our proof in Lean 4.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Advanced Combinatorial Mathematics Analytic Number Theory Research Mathematical Inequalities and Applications

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
27 January 2026
Document type
Preprint