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A graph of the bivariate convex function x 2 + xy + y 2. Convex vs. Not convex. In mathematics, a real-valued function is called convex if the line segment between any two distinct points on the graph of the function lies above or on the graph between the two points. Equivalently, a function is convex if its epigraph (the set of points on or ...
A function f is concave over a convex set if and only if the function −f is a convex function over the set. The sum of two concave functions is itself concave and so is the pointwise minimum of two concave functions, i.e. the set of concave functions on a given domain form a semifield.
Convex function - a function in which the line segment between any two points on the graph of the function lies above the graph. Closed convex function - a convex function all of whose sublevel sets are closed sets. Proper convex function - a convex function whose effective domain is nonempty and it never attains minus infinity. Concave ...
Equivalently, a convex set or a convex region is a set that intersects every line in a line segment, single point, or the empty set. [1] [2] For example, a solid cube is a convex set, but anything that is hollow or has an indent, for example, a crescent shape, is not convex. The boundary of a convex set in the plane is always a convex curve.
Convex analysis includes not only the study of convex subsets of Euclidean spaces but also the study of convex functions on abstract spaces. Convex analysis is the branch of mathematics devoted to the study of properties of convex functions and convex sets , often with applications in convex minimization , a subdomain of optimization theory .
The second derivative of a function f can be used to determine the concavity of the graph of f. [2] A function whose second derivative is positive is said to be concave up (also referred to as convex), meaning that the tangent line near the point where it touches the function will lie below the graph of the function.
Jensen's inequality generalizes the statement that a secant line of a convex function lies above its graph. Visualizing convexity and Jensen's inequality. In mathematics, Jensen's inequality, named after the Danish mathematician Johan Jensen, relates the value of a convex function of an integral to the integral of the convex function.
This follows from the fact that the convolution of two log-concave functions is log-concave. The product of two log-concave functions is log-concave. This means that joint densities formed by multiplying two probability densities (e.g. the normal-gamma distribution, which always has a shape parameter ≥ 1) will be log-concave.