Definition Weighted Sum over the Standard Simplex
definition formalized

Weighted Sum over the Standard Simplex

For a finite index I, a strictly ordered field 𝕜, an element x ∈ stdSimplex 𝕜 I, and a function f : I → 𝕜, the weighted sum is $$ \operatorname{wsum} x \, f \;=\; \sum_{i \in I} x_i \cdot f(i). $$

This is the operator that turns a mixed strategy into an expected payoff and a lottery into an expected utility. It is definitionally equal to Mathlib's finite dot product x ⬝ᵥ f, but receives a dedicated name because the simplex-specific algebraic lemmas below depend on the constraints $\sum_i x_i = 1$ and $x_i \ge 0$ and have no generic dotProduct analogue.

The core algebra:

  • wsum_const -- wsum x (fun _ => c) = c
  • wsum_le_wsum -- pointwise f ≤ g implies wsum x f ≤ wsum x g
  • wsum_nonneg -- pointwise 0 ≤ f implies 0 ≤ wsum x f
  • wsum_ge_wsum -- the symmetric version of monotonicity
  • wsum_add -- wsum x (f + g) = wsum x f + wsum x g
  • wsum_smul -- wsum x (c • f) = c · wsum x f

References

  • [MFoGT, Chapter 1] Laraki, Renault, and Sorin, Mathematical Foundations of Game Theory. Mixed-strategy weighted sums.

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