Approximate tensorization of entropy at high temperature

Abstract

We show that for weakly dependent random variables the relative entropy functional satisfies an approximate version of the standard tensorization property which holds in the independent case. As a corollary we obtain a family of dimensionless logarithmic Sobolev inequalities. In the context of spin systems on a graph, the weak dependence requirements resemble the well known Dobrushin uniqueness conditions. Our results can be considered as a discrete counterpart of a recent work of Katalin Marton. We also discuss some natural generalizations such as approximate Shearer estimates and subadditivity of entropy.