On some problems of the maximum entropy ansatzK BANDYOPADHYAYa, K BHATTACHARYYAb and A K BHATTACHARYAa*a Department of Physics; bDepartment of Chemistry, Burdwan University, Burdwan 713 104, India*Corresponding author Abstract. Some problems associated with the use of the maximum entropy principle, namely, (i) possible divergence of the series that is exponentiated, (ii) input-dependent asymptotic behaviour of the density function resulting from the truncation of the said series, and (iii) non-vanishing of the density function at the boundaries of a finite domain are pointed out. Prescriptions for remedying the aforesaid problems are put forward. Pilot calculations involving the ground quantum eigenenergy states of the quartic oscillator, the particle-in-a-box model, and the classical Maxwellian speed and energy distributions lend credence to our approach. Keywords Maximum entropy ansatz; Padé-type approximants; boundary behaviour. Pacs No. 02.70; 03.65 Gc; 31.15 Pf |