Quadruple Inequalities: Between Cauchy-Schwarz and Triangle

Abstract

We prove a set of inequalities that interpolate the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality and the triangle inequality. Every nondecreasing, convex function with a concave derivative induces such an inequality. They hold in any metric space that satisfies a metric version of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, including all CAT(0) spaces and, in particular, all Euclidean spaces. Because these inequalities establish relations between the six distances of four points, we call them quadruple inequalities. In this context, we introduce the quadruple constant - a real number that quantifies the distortion of the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality by a given function. Additionally, for inner product spaces, we prove an alternative, more symmetric version of the quadruple inequalities, which generalizes the parallelogram law.