Bounds on the Poincare constant under negative dependence

Abstract

We give bounds on the Poincare (inverse spectral gap) constant of a non-negative, integer-valued random variable W, under negative dependence assumptions such as ultra log-concavity and total negative dependence. We show that the bounds obtained compare well to others in the literature. Examples treated include some occupancy and urn models, a random graph model and small spacings on the circumference of a circle. Applications to Poisson convergence theorems are considered.