Information Theory and Quadrature Rules

Abstract: Quadrature rules estimate the value of an integral when the function is given by a table of values. Every binary string defines a quadrature rule by choosing which endpoint of each interval represents the interval. The standard rules, such as Simpson's Rule, correspond to strings of low Kolmogorov complexity, making it possible to define new quadrature rules with no smoothness assumptions, as well as in higher dimensions. Error results depend on concepts from compressed sensing. Good quadrature rules exist for "sparse" functions, which also satisfy an error--information duality principle.