A simpler proof of the negative association property for absolute values of measures tied to generalized Orlicz balls

Jakub Onufry Wojtaszczyk

Published 2009-09-23Version 1

Negative association for a family of random variables $(X_i)$ means that for any coordinate--wise increasing functions $f,g$ we have $$\E f(X_{i_1},...,X_{i_k}) g(X_{j_1},...,X_{j_l}) \leq \E f(X_{i_1},...,X_{i_k}) \E g(X_{j_1},...,X_{j_l})$$ for any disjoint sets of indices $(i_m)$, $(j_n)$. It is a way to indicate the negative correlation in a family of random variables. It was first introduced in 1980s in statistics, and brought to convex geometry in 2005 to prove the Central Limit Theorem for Orlicz balls. The paper gives a relatively simple proof of negative association of absolute values for a wide class of measures tied to generalized Orlicz balls, including the uniform measures on generalized Orlicz balls.