## Lecture 17: Chebyshev’s Inequality, Pairwise Independence

So far we have seen two concentration bounds for scalar random variables: Markov and Chernoff. For our sort of applications, these are by far the most useful. In most introductory probability courses, you are likely to see another inequality, which is Chebyshev’s inequality. Its strength lies between the Markov and Chernoff inequalities: the concentration bounds we get from Chebyshev is usually better than Markov but worse than Chernoff. On the other hand, Chebyshev requires stronger hypotheses than Markov but weaker hypotheses than Chernoff.

1. Variance

We begin by reviewing variance, and other related notions, which should be familiar from an introductory probability course. The variance of a random variable ${X}$ is

$\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} {\mathrm{Var}}[X] ~=~ {\mathrm E}\Big[ \big(X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big)^2 \Big] ~=~ {\mathrm E}[ X^2 ] - {\mathrm E}[X]^2. \end{array}$

The covariance between two random variables ${X}$ and ${Y}$ is

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Cov}}[X,Y] ~=~ {\mathrm E}\Big[ \big(X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big) \big(Y-{\mathrm E}[Y]\big) \Big] ~=~ {\mathrm E}[XY] - {\mathrm E}[X]{\mathrm E}[Y].$

This gives some measure of the correlation between ${X}$ and ${Y}$.

Here are some properties of variance and covariance that follow from the definitions by simple calculations.

Claim 1 If ${X}$ and ${Y}$ are independent then ${{\mathrm{Cov}}[X,Y] = 0}$.

Claim 2 ${{\mathrm{Cov}}[X+Y,Z] = {\mathrm{Cov}}[X,Z] + {\mathrm{Cov}}[Y,Z]}$.

More generally, induction shows

Claim 3 ${{\mathrm{Cov}}[\sum_i X_i,Z] = \sum_i {\mathrm{Cov}}[X_i,Z]}$.

Claim 4 ${{\mathrm{Var}}[X+Y] = {\mathrm{Var}}[X] + {\mathrm{Var}}[Y] + 2 \cdot {\mathrm{Cov}}[X,Y]}$.

More generally, induction shows

Claim 5 Let ${X_1,\ldots,X_n}$ be arbitrary random variables. Then

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Var}}\Bigg[\sum_{i=1}^n X_i\Bigg] ~=~ \sum_{i=1}^n {\mathrm{Var}}[X_i] + 2 \sum_{i=1}^n \sum_{j>i} {\mathrm{Cov}}[X_i,X_j].$

In particular,

Claim 6 Let ${X_1,\ldots,X_n}$ be mutually independent random variables. Then ${ {\mathrm{Var}}[\sum_{i=1}^n X_i]~= \sum_{i=1}^n {\mathrm{Var}}[X_i] }$.

2. Chebyshev’s Inequality

Chebyshev’s inequality you’ve also presumably seen before. It is a 1-line consequence of Markov’s inequality.

Theorem 7 For any ${t > 0}$,

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}\Big[ \big|X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big|\geq t \Big] ~\leq~ \frac{{\mathrm{Var}}[X]}{t^2}.$

Proof:

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}\Big[ \big|X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big|\geq t \Big] ~=~ {\mathrm{Pr}}\Big[ \big(X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big)^2\geq t^2 \Big] ~\leq~ \frac{ {\mathrm E}[ \big(X-{\mathrm E}[X]\big)^2 ]}{t^2} ~=~ \frac{ {\mathrm{Var}}[ X ]}{t^2},$

where the inequality is by Markov’s inequality. $\Box$

As a quick example, suppose we independently flip ${n}$ fair coins. What’s the probability that we see at least ${3n/4}$ heads? Let ${X_i}$ be the indictator random variable of the event “${i}$th toss is heads”. Let ${\mu = {\mathrm E}[\sum_i X_i] = n/2}$. So we want to analyze ${{\mathrm{Pr}}[ \sum_i X_i - \mu \geq n/4 ]}$.

Bound from Chebyshev: Note that

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Var}}[X_i] ~=~ {\mathrm E}[X_i^2] - {\mathrm E}[X_i]^2 ~=~ 1/2 - 1/4 ~=~ 1/4.$

By independence,

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Var}}[{\textstyle \sum_i X_i}] ~=~ \sum_i {\mathrm{Var}}[X_i] ~=~ n/4.$

By Chebyshev’s inequality

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[ {\textstyle \sum_i X_i - \mu \geq n/4 }] ~\leq~ {\mathrm{Pr}}\Big[ {\textstyle \big|\sum_i X_i-{\mathrm E}[\sum_i X_i]\big|\geq n/4 } \Big] ~\leq~ \frac{{\mathrm{Var}}[\sum_i X_i]}{(n/4)^2} ~=~ \frac{n/4}{(n/4)^2} ~=~ \frac{4}{n}.$

Bound from Chernoff: Chernoff’s inequality gives

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[ {\textstyle \sum_i X_i - \mu \geq n/4 }] ~=~ {\mathrm{Pr}}[ {\textstyle \sum_i X_i - \mu \geq \mu/2 }] ~\leq~ \exp( - (1/2)^2 \mu / 3 ) ~<~ 0.96^n.$

This is better than the bound from Chebyshev for ${n \geq 71}$.

So Chebyshev is weaker than Chernoff, at least for analyzing sums of independent Bernoulli trials. So why do we bother studying Chebyshev? One reason is that Chernoff is designed for analyzing sums of mutually independent random variables. That is quite a strong assumption. In some scenarios, our random variables are not mutually independent, or perhaps we deliberately choose them not to be mutually independent.

• For example, generating mutually independent random variables requires a lot of random bits and, as discussed last time, randomness is a “precious resource”. We will see that decreasing the number of random bits give another method to derandomize algorithms.
• Another important example is in constructing hash functions, which are random-like functions. Generating a completely random function takes a huge number of random bits. So instead we often try to use hash functions involving less randomness.

3. ${k}$-wise independence

A set of events ${{\mathcal E}_1,\ldots,{\mathcal E}_n}$ are called ${k}$-wise independent if for any set ${I \subseteq \{1,\ldots,n\}}$ with ${|I| \leq k}$ we have

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[ \wedge_{i \in I} {\mathcal E}_i ] ~=~ \prod_{i \in I} {\mathrm{Pr}}[ {\mathcal E}_i ].$

The term pairwise independence is a synonym for ${2}$-wise independence.

Similarly, a set of discrete random variables ${X_1,\ldots,X_n}$ are called ${k}$-wise independent if for any set ${I \subseteq \{1,\ldots,n\}}$ with ${|I| \leq k}$ and any values ${x_i}$ we have

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ \wedge_{i \in I} \: X_i \!=\! x_i ~] = \prod_{i \in I} {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_i = x_i ].$

Claim 8 Suppose ${X_1,\ldots,X_n}$ are ${k}$-wise independent. Then

$\displaystyle {\mathrm E}[~{\textstyle \prod_{i \in I} X_i }~] ~=~ \prod_{i \in I} {\mathrm E}[X_i] \qquad\forall I ~\mathrm{with}~ |I| \leq k.$

Proof: For notational simplicity, consider the case ${I = \{1,\ldots,k\}}$. Then

$\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} {\mathrm E}[~{\textstyle \prod_{i=1}^k X_i }~] &=& \sum_{x_1} \sum_{x_2} \cdots \sum_{x_k} ~ {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ \wedge_{i=1}^k \, X_i \!=\! x_i ~] \cdot \prod_{i=1}^k x_i \\ &=& \sum_{x_1} \sum_{x_2} \cdots \sum_{x_k} ~ \prod_{i=1}^k {\mathrm{Pr}}[X_i \!=\! x_i ] \cdot x_i \qquad(k\!-\!\mathrm{wise~independence})\\ &=& \Big(\sum_{x_1} {\mathrm{Pr}}[X_1 \!=\! x_1 ] \cdot x_1\Big) \cdots \Big(\sum_{x_k} {\mathrm{Pr}}[X_k \!=\! x_k ] \cdot x_k\Big) \\ &=& \prod_{i=1}^k {\mathrm E}[ X_i ]. \end{array}$

$\Box$

Example: To get a feel for pairwise independence, consider the following three Bernoulli random variables that are pairwise independent but not mutually independent. There are 4 possible outcomes of these three random variables. Each of these outcomes has probability ${1/4}$.

$\displaystyle \begin{array}{ccc} X_1 & X_2 & X_3 \\ \hline 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 1 \\ 1 & 0 & 1 \\ 1 & 1 & 0 \end{array}$

They are certainly not mutually independent because the event ${X_1=X_2=X_3=1}$ has probability ${0}$, whereas ${\prod_{i=1}^3 {\mathrm{Pr}}[X_i=1]=(1/2)^3}$. But, by checking all cases, one can verify that they are pairwise independent.

3.1. Constructing Pairwise Independent RVs

Let ${{\mathbb F}}$ be a finite field and ${q=|{\mathbb F}|}$. We will construct RVs ${Y_1, \cdots, Y_q}$ such that each ${Y_i}$ is uniform over ${{\mathbb F}}$ and the ${Y_i}$‘s are pairwise independent. To do so, we need to generate only two independent RVs ${X_1}$ and ${X_2}$ that are uniformly distributed over ${{\mathbb F}}$. We then define

$\displaystyle Y_i ~=~ X_1 + i \cdot X_2. \ \ \ \ \ (1)$

Claim 9 Each ${Y_i}$ is uniformly distributed on ${{\mathbb F}}$.

Proof: For ${i=0}$ we have ${Y_i = X_1}$, which is uniform. For ${i \neq 0}$ and any ${j \in {\mathbb F}}$ we have

$\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} {\mathrm{Pr}}[ Y_i = j ] &=& {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_1 + i \cdot X_2 = j ] \\ &=& {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_2 = (j-X_1)/i ] \\ &=& \sum_{x \in {\mathbb F}} {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ X_2 = (j-x)/i ~\wedge~ X_1=x ~] \qquad(\mathrm{total~probability~law}) \\ &=& \sum_{x \in {\mathbb F}} {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_2 = (j-x)/i] \cdot {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_1=x ] \qquad(\mathrm{pairwise~independence}) \\ &=& (1/q) \cdot \sum_{x \in {\mathbb F}} {\mathrm{Pr}}[ X_2 = (j-x)/i ] \\ &=& (1/q), \end{array}$

since as ${x}$ ranges through ${{\mathbb F}}$, ${(j-x)/i}$ also ranges through all of ${{\mathbb F}}$. (In other words, the map ${x \mapsto (j-x)/i}$ is a bijection of ${{\mathbb F}}$ to itself.) So ${Y_i}$ is uniform. $\Box$

Claim 10 The ${Y_i}$‘s are pairwise independent.

Proof: We wish to show that, for any distinct RVs ${Y_i}$ and ${Y_j}$ and any values ${a,b \in {\mathbb F}}$, we have

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ Y_i=a \:\wedge\: Y_j=b ~] ~=~ {\mathrm{Pr}}[ Y_i=a ] \cdot {\mathrm{Pr}}[ Y_j=b ] ~=~ 1/q^2.$

This event is equivalent to ${X_1+i \cdot X_2 = a}$ and ${X_1+j \cdot X_2 = b}$. We can also rewrite that as:

$\displaystyle \begin{pmatrix} 1 & i \\ 1 & j \end{pmatrix} \cdot \begin{pmatrix} X_1 \\ X_2 \end{pmatrix} ~=~ \begin{pmatrix} a \\ b \end{pmatrix}.$

This holds precisely when

$\displaystyle \begin{pmatrix} X_1 \\ X_2 \end{pmatrix} ~=~ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & i \\ 1 & j \end{pmatrix}^{-1} \cdot \begin{pmatrix} a \\ b \end{pmatrix} ~=~ \begin{pmatrix} ja-ib \\ b-a \end{pmatrix} /(j-i).$

Since ${X_1}$ and ${X_2}$ are independent and uniform over ${{\mathbb F}}$, this event holds with probability ${1/q^2}$. $\Box$

Corollary 11 Given ${2n}$ mutually independent, uniformly random bits, we can construct ${2^n}$ pairwise independent, uniformly random strings in ${\{0,1\}^n}$.

Proof: Apply the previous construction to the finite field ${{\mathbb F}_{2^n}}$. The ${2n}$ mutually independent random bits are used to construct ${X_1}$ and ${X_2}$. The random strings ${Y_1,\ldots,Y_{2^n}}$ are constructed as in (1). $\Box$

3.2. Example: Max Cut with pairwise independent RVs

Once again let’s consider the Max Cut problem. We are given a graph ${G=(V,E)}$ where ${V = \{1,\ldots,n\}}$. We will choose ${\{0,1\}}$-valued random variables ${Y_1,\ldots,Y_n}$. If ${Y_i=1}$ then we add vertex ${i}$ to ${U}$.

Our original algorithm chose ${Y_1,\ldots,Y_n}$ to be mutually independent and uniform. Instead we will pick ${Y_1,\ldots,Y_n}$ to be pairwise independent and uniform. Then

$\displaystyle \begin{array}{rcl} {\mathrm E}[ |\delta(U)| ] &=& \sum_{ij \in E} {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ (i \!\in\! U \wedge j \!\not\in\! U) \:\vee\: (i \!\not\in\! U \wedge j \!\in\! U) ~] \\ &=& \sum_{ij \in E} {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ i \!\in\! U \wedge j \!\not\in\! U ~] + {\mathrm{Pr}}[~ i \!\not\in\! U \wedge j \!\in\! U ~] \\ &=& \sum_{ij \in E} {\mathrm{Pr}}[Y_i]{\mathrm{Pr}}[\overline{Y_j}] + {\mathrm{Pr}}[\overline{Y_i}]{\mathrm{Pr}}[Y_j] \qquad(\mathrm{pairwise~independence}) \\ &=& \sum_{ij \in E} \Big( (1/2)^2 + (1/2)^2 \Big) \\ &=& |E|/2 \end{array}$

So the original algorithm works just as well if we make pairwise independent decisions instead of mutually independent decisions for placing vertices in ${U}$. The following theorem shows the advantage of making pairwise independent decisions.

Theorem 12 There is a deterministic, polynomial time algorithm to find a cut ${\delta(U)}$ with ${|\delta(U)| \geq |E|/2}$.

Proof: By Corollary 11, we only need ${b = O(\log n)}$ mutually independent, uniform random bits ${X_1,\ldots,X_b}$ in order to generate our pairwise independent, uniform random bits ${Y_1,\ldots,Y_n}$. We have just argued that these pairwise independent ${Y_i}$‘s will give us

$\displaystyle {\mathrm E}_{X_1,\ldots,X_b}[ |\delta(U)| ] ~=~ |E|/2.$

So there must exist some particular bits ${(x_1,\ldots,x_b)}$ such that fixing ${X_i=x_i}$ for all ${i}$, we get ${ |\delta(U)| \geq |E|/2 }$. We can deterministically find such bits ${(x_1,\ldots,x_b)}$ by exhaustive search in ${2^b = 2^{O(\log n)} = \mathrm{poly}(n)}$ trials. This gives a deterministic, polynomial time algorithm. $\Box$

4. Chebyshev with pairwise independent RVs

One of the main benefits of pairwise independent RVs is that Chebyshev’s inequality still works beautifully. Suppose that ${X_1,\ldots,X_n}$ are pairwise independent. For any ${i \neq j}$,

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Cov}}[X_i,X_j] ~=~ {\mathrm E}[X_i X_j] - {\mathrm E}[X_i]{\mathrm E}[X_j] ~=~ 0,$

by Claim 8. So

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Var}}[{\textstyle \sum_{i=1}^n X_i}] ~=~ \sum_{i=1}^n {\mathrm{Var}}[X_i],$

by Claim 5. So

$\displaystyle {\mathrm{Pr}}[{\textstyle |\sum_i X_i - {\mathrm E}[\sum_i X_i]| > t }] ~\leq~ \frac{{\mathrm{Var}}[\sum_i X_i]}{t^2}.$

This is exactly the same bound that we would get if the ${X_i}$‘s were mutually independent.

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1. faro 財布