%! TEX root = ABF.tex % vim: tw=80 ft=tex % 27/01/2026 12PM \item \phantom{} \\[-2.5\baselineskip] \begin{align*} \ft{f \conv g}(\chi) &= \Ebb_x f \conv g(x) \ol{\chi(x)} \\ &= \Ebb_x \Ebb_{uv = x} f(u) g(v) \ol{\chi(uv)} \\ &= \Ebb_{u, v} f(u) \ol{\chi(u)} g(v) \ol{\chi(v)} \\ &= \ft{f}(\chi) \ft{g}(\chi) \end{align*} \item \phantom{} \\[-2.5\baselineskip] \begin{align*} \sum_\chi \ft{f}(\chi) \chi(x) &= \sum_\chi \Ebb_y f(y) \ol{\chi(y)} \chi(x) \\ &= \Ebb_y f(y) \sum_\chi \chi(xy^{-1}) \\ &= \Ebb_y f(y) \Delta_{xy} \\ &= f(x) \qedhere \end{align*} \end{enumerate} \end{proof} \subsubsection*{Specialising to $\Fbb_2^n$} For each $r \in \Fbb_2^n$, we can define a \gls{char} $\chi_r$ by \[ \chi_r(x) = (-1)^{r \cdot x} ,\] where $r \cdot x$ is shorthand for $\sum_{i = 1}^{n} r_i x_i \mod 2$. This gives $2^r$ distinct \glspl{char}, so all of them. If $f : \Fbb_2^n \to \Cbb$, then for each $r \in \dualgp{\Fbb_2^n}$, we write \[ \widehat{f}(r) = \Ebb_x (-1)^{r \cdot x} f(x) .\] If we identify elements $x$ of $\Fbb_2^n$ with their supports $A_x = \{i : x_i = 1\}$, then $r \cdot x = |A_r \cap A_x| \mod 2$. uso if we take the group $(\mathcal{P}([n]), \symdiff)$, then given a function $f : \mathcal{P}([n]) \to \Cbb$, we have \[ \ft{f}(B) = \Ebb_{A \subset [n]} f(A) (-1)^{|A \cap B|} .\] If we take the group $\{-1, 1\}^n$ with pointwise multiplication, then the \glspl{char} are the functions of the form \[ x \mapsto \prod_{i \in A} x_i ,\] where $A \subset [n]$. Write these as $x_A$. \begin{warning*} I shall be sloppy about the distinction between the \emph{function} $x_A$ and the value it takes. \end{warning*} We shall write $\ft{f}(A)$ for $\ft{f}(x_A)$. Then $\ft{f}(A) = \Ebb_x f(x) x_A$. By the inversion formula, $f(x) = \sum_A \ft{f}(A) x_A$. Convention: I'll say ``multilinear'' for ``multiaffine''. So ``linear in the school sense, rather than the linear algebra sense''. The inversion formula therefore expresses $f : \{-1, 1\}^n \to \Rbb$ as the restriction to $\{-1, 1\}^n$ of a multilinear function on $\Rbb^n$. \begin{fclemma}[] % Lemma 1.4 \label{lemma:1.4} For every $f : \{-1, 1\}^n \to \Rbb$, there is a unique multilinear function $\mu : \Rbb^n \to \Rbb$ such that $\mu|_{\{-1, 1\}^n} = f$. \end{fclemma} \begin{proof} We have shown existence (using the inversion formula). For uniqueness, it is enough to show that if $\mu$ is multilinear and vanishes on $\{-1, 1\}^n$, then it vanishes everywhere. We show this by induction on $n$. If $n = 1$, then $\mu$ is linear and $\mu(-1) = \mu(1) = 0$, so $\mu \equiv 0$. Now assume the result for $n - 1$ and let $\mu : \Rbb^n \to \Rbb$ be multilinear and $0$ on $\{-1, 1\}^n$. Since $\mu$ depends linearly on the last coordinate, we can write for all $x \in \Rbb^{n - 1}$, $t \in \Rbb$, \[ \mu(x, t) = \alpha(x) t + \beta(x) .\] Let $x \in \{-1, 1\}^{n - 1}$. Then \[ \beta(x) = \half (\mu(x, 1) + \mu(x, -1)) = 0 .\] Also, $\mu(x, 0) = \beta(x)$, so $\beta$ is multilinear. Since it vanishes on $\{-1, 1\}^n$, induction hypothesis gives that $\beta \equiv 0$. So $\mu(x, t) = \alpha(x)t$. Setting $t = 1$ gives $\alpha(x) = \mu(x, 1)$, so $\alpha$ is multilinear and $0$ on $\{-1, 1\}^{n - 1}$, so $\alpha \equiv 0$. \end{proof} \begin{fcdefnstar}[Degree (of a boolean function)] \glsadjdefn{degree}{degree}{function}% Let $f : \{-1, 1\}^n \to \Rbb$. The \emph{degree} of $f$ is the degree of the multilinear polynomial $\mu$ that restricts to it. Equivalently, it is $\max \{|A| : \ft{f}(A) \neq 0\}$. \end{fcdefnstar} \newpage \section{Influence, noise, stability} \begin{fcdefnstar}[Influence] \glssymboldefn{Inf}% \glsnoundefn{totinf}{total influence}{}% Let $f : \{0, 1\}^n \to \{0, 1\}$. The \emph{influence} of the $i$-th variable, $\Infinternal_i f$, is the probability (for a random $x$) that changing $x_i$ changes the value of $f$. The \emph{total influence} $I(f)$ of $f$ is $\sum_i \Inf_i f$. \end{fcdefnstar} \begin{remark*} Up to normalisation, the \gls{totinf} is the edge boundary of the support of $f$. \end{remark*} \begin{notation*} \glssymboldefn{Di}% We define $D_i f(x) = f(x_1, \ldots, x_{i - 1} 1, x_{i + 1}, \ldots, x_n) - f(x_1, \ldots, x_{i - 1}, 0, x_{i + 1}, \ldots, x_n)$. We shall write $x_{i \to t}$ for $(x_1, \ldots, x_{i - 1}, t, x_{i + 1}, \ldots, x_n)$. If $f : \{0, 1\}^n \to \{0, 1\}$, then \[ \Inf_i f = \Ebb_x D_i f(x)^2 = \|D_i f\|_2^2 .\] If $f : \{-1, 1\}^n \to \Rbb$, then we define \[ D_i f(x) = \half(f(x_{i \subst 1}) - f(x_{i \subst -1})) .\] The factor $\half$ is so that $D_i f$ takes values in $\{-1, 0, 1\}$ when $f$ takes values in $\{-1, 1\}$. Again, $\Inf_i f = \|D_i f\|_2^2$, and $\totinf(f) = \sum_i \Inf_i(f)$. \end{notation*} If $f = x_A$, then \[ \D_i f(x) = \begin{cases} 0 & i \notin A \\ \frac{x_{A \setminus \{i\}} - (-x_{A \setminus \{i\}}}{2} = x_{A \setminus \{i\}} & i \in A \end{cases} \] So in general, \[ \D_i f = \D_i \left( \sum_A \ft{f}(A) x_A \right) = \sum_{A \ni i} \ft{f}(A) x_{A \setminus \{i\}} .\] Therefore (by orthogonality), \[ \Inf_i f = \|\D_i(f)\|_2^2 = \sum_{A \ni i} \ft{f}(A)^2 \] and \[ \totinf(f) = \sum_i \sum_{A \ni i} \ft{f}(A)^2 \\ = \sum_A |A| \ft{f}(A)^2 .\]