Journal of Integer Sequences, Vol. 16 (2013), Article 13.2.8

On the Entropy of Curves


Michael Maurice Dodson
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
United Kingdom

Michel Mendès France
Université Bordeaux I
351 cours de la Libération
33405 Talence Cedex
F-33405 France

Abstract:

Using geometric probability, we apply the formal definitions of Shannon entropy and Rényi's generalization to study the complexity of planar curves of finite length within a convex set. The bounds for the Shannon and Rényi entropies depend on the arc length of the curve and on that of the boundary of the convex set; they involve a Gibbs distribution and a power law distribution, respectively. We also obtain explicit formulae for the two entropies and determine convex sets that maximize the entropy of curves.


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Received June 28 2012; revised version received August 31 2012. Published in Journal of Integer Sequences, March 2 2013.


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