All Questions
Tagged with pr.probability measure-theory
93 questions
25
votes
6
answers
6k
views
Proof of Krylov-Bogoliubov theorem
Where can I find a proof (in English) of the Krylov-Bogoliubov theorem, which states if $X$ is a compact metric space and $T\colon X \to X$ is continuous, then there is a $T$-invariant Borel ...
- 897
25
votes
6
answers
10k
views
Metrization of weak convergence of signed measures
Edit: Changed from "Hausdorff" to "metric" spaces.
Let $\mathcal{M}(\Omega)$ denote the space of signed regular Borel measures on a compact metric space $\Omega$. By Riesz-Markov, ...
- 12.7k
22
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can one view the Independent Product in Probability categorially?
One can construct a category of probability spaces, but this category has no products. Now probability theory relies strongly on the ability to build independent products, the product measure. In a ...
20
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Does every compact metric space have a canonical probability measure?
Edit: Shortly after this post it was rightly pointed out by @AntonPetrunin that the measure $\mu$ may not be unique. @R W then showed how one can construct a metric space where the limiting measure is ...
- 203
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Properties of convolutions
Consider the function
$$f_{n}(x)=e^{-x^2}x^n.$$
and the function
$$h_p(x):=e^{-\vert x \vert^p}.$$
My goal is to analyze
$$ F_p(y):=\frac{(f_2*h_p)(y)}{(f_0*h_p)(y)}- \left(\frac{(f_1*h_p)(y) }{(f_0*...
- 173
7
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Conditional Expectation for $\sigma$-finite measures
Someone knows of some definition or reference of how to define conditional expectation for a measure space with $\sigma$-finite measure.
I think it should be as follows:
Let $(X,\mathcal{B},\nu)$ ...
- 193
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Convex hulls of families of probability measures
Let $X$ be a standard Borel space, so that the space of Borel probability measures on $X$ is also a standard Borel space. We denote it by $\mathcal P(X)$.
In this paper for any family of probability ...
- 1,655
17
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Conditional probabilities are measurable functions - when are they continuous?
Let $\Omega$ be a Banach space; for the sake of this post, we will take $\Omega = {\mathbb R}^2$, but I am more interested in the infinite dimensional setting. Take $\mathcal F$ to be the Borel $\...
- 8,512
17
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Intuitive understanding of the Stieltjes transform
I have been using random matrix theory in signal processing and have some trouble understanding what the Stieltjes transform does.
The gist of my work is that I have an $N\times N$ true covariance ...
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
The Borel $\sigma$-algebra of the set of probability measures
Let $X$ be a compact metric space and $M(X)$ the set of all Borel probability measures on $X$.
It is know that $M(X)$ is a convex compact metric space endowed with the weak-* topology i.e.
$(\mu_n)_n \...
- 133
9
votes
1
answer
4k
views
What are some characterizations of the strong and total variation convergence topologies on measures?
I asked this question on StackExchange a few days ago but didn't get any response, so I thought I would try here.
The Wikipedia article on convergence of measures defines three kinds of convergence: ...
- 203
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Change of time or change of measure
Consider simple diffusion $dX_t = \sigma dw_t$ and a parameter $a>0$ and $X_0=x$. Let us denote $Y_t = X_{at}$ - thus we made a change of time. Let us denote an original measure as $P$. How to find ...
- 1,655
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Quotients of standard Borel spaces
Let $X$ and $Y$ be standard Borel spaces: topological spaces homeomorphic to Borel subsets of complete metric spaces. Given a surjective Borel map $f:X\to Y$, we get an equivalence relation $\sim_f\...
- 1,655
2
votes
1
answer
152
views
Computationally random bitstreams and normalcy
Let $\mathbb{N}$ denote the set of non-negative integers. We can identify every bitstream, i.e. a function $s:\mathbb{N}\to \{0,1\}$, with some $A\in{\cal P}(\mathbb{N})$: take $A = s^{-1}(\{1\})$.
...
- 48.9k
2
votes
2
answers
322
views
If $(\exp(\mu_n))_{n\in\mathbb N}$ is weakly convergent, is the normalized sequence convergent as well?
Let $E$ be a metric space and $\mathcal M(E)$ denoote the space of finite signed measures on $\mathcal B(E)$ equipped with the total variation norm $\left\|\;\cdot\;\right\|$.
I would like to know ...
- 167
1
vote
1
answer
184
views
Measure, volume and cardinality on Minlos' book on statistical physics
The following content was based on Minlos' book on statistical physics. Let $\Lambda \subset \mathbb{R}^{d}$ be fixed (Minlos takes $d=3$ but I think the ideas follow without change to $d \ge 1$). We ...
- 1,305
1
vote
2
answers
194
views
Continuity of the densities of a stochastic process
Let $X=(X_t)_{t\in I}$ ($I\subset\mathbb{R}$ an interval) be a stochastic process with continuous sample paths and such that $X_t$ admits a continuous Lebesgue density $\chi_t\in C(\mathbb{R}^d)$ for ...
- 463
0
votes
1
answer
557
views
Is the limsup or liminf of n-wise independent events independent?
Let $(\Omega, \mathscr F, \mathbb P)$ be a probability space.
Consider events indexed by $m, n \in \mathbb N$:
$ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ A_{1,n}, A_{2,n}, A_{3,n} ...$ are n-wise independent.
$A_{m,1}...
- 247
178
votes
8
answers
31k
views
Why do probabilists take random variables to be Borel (and not Lebesgue) measurable?
I've been studying a bit of probability theory lately and noticed that there seems to be a universal agreement that random variables should be defined as Borel measurable functions on the probability ...
- 4,874
48
votes
7
answers
12k
views
What's the use of a complete measure?
A complete measure space is one in which any subset of a measure-zero set is measurable.
For what reasons would I want a complete measure space? The only reason I can think of is in the context of ...
- 481
32
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Is a random subset of the real numbers non-measurable? Is the set of measurable sets measurable?
One might say, "a random subset of $\mathbb{R}$ is not Lebesgue measurable" without really thinking about it. But if we unpack the standard definitions of all those terms (and work in ZFC), it's not ...
- 2,200
32
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Do invariant measures maximize the integral?
Update: The negative answer to the following question has been provided by Matthew Daws, who won, but also rejected, the bounty of 100 euro that I set over the question.
Let $\mathcal M(\mathbb Z)$ ...
- 6,034
23
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What is a Gaussian measure?
Let $X$ be a topological affine space. A Gaussian measure on $X$ is characterized by the property that its finite-dimensional projections are multivariate Gaussian distributions.
Is there a direct ...
- 8,512
21
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Why pi-systems and Dynkin/lambda systems? On the relative merits of approaches in measure theory.
What is the point of $\pi$-systems and
$\mathcal{D}$ / Dynkin /
$\lambda$-systems?
I am an analyst in the process of consolidating my measure theory knowledge before moving on to harder/newer ...
- 1,771
19
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Measure induced on [0, 1] by infinite tosses of biased coin
It is well-known that one can get the Lebesgue measure on [0, 1] by tossing a fair coin infinitely (countably) many times and mapping each sequence to a real number written out in binary.
I was ...
- 675
18
votes
1
answer
452
views
Is defining measures as functionals ever insufficiently general in practice?
Crossposting from Math Stack Exchange, as it has yet to receive any answers there; the original question is here.
The way I learned measures was as set functions on a $\sigma$-algebra with certain ...
- 183
18
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Reference for a strong intermediate value theorem for measures
Let $\mu$ be a finite nonatomic measure on a measurable space $(X,\Sigma)$, and for simplicity assume that $\mu(X) = 1$. There is a well-known "intermediate value theorem" of Sierpiński that states ...
- 5,407
17
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Is measure preserving function almost surjective?
Let $F:[0,1]\to[0,1]$ be a Lebesgue measure preserving function. Is $F$ almost surjective, i.e., the image of $F$ has interior measure one?
This question is motivated by the following observation. If ...
- 397
16
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Continuity on a measure one set versus measure one set of points of continuity
In short: If $f$ is continuous on a measure one set, is there a function $g=f$ a.e. such that a.e. point is a point of continuity of $g$?
Now more carefully, with some notation: Suppose $(X, d_X)$ ...
- 2,221
15
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Disintegrations are measurable measures - when are they continuous?
This is a sequel to another question I have asked.
The notion of disintegration is a refinement of conditional probability to spaces which have more structure than abstract probability spaces; ...
- 8,512
13
votes
4
answers
5k
views
What is known about the Gaussian measure of the unit ball in a Hilbert Space?
Let $X$ be an infinite dimensional separable Hilbert Space with norm $||\cdot||$ and let $\mu$ be a Gaussian measure on $X$ such that $\mu(X) = 1$. What do we know about $\mu(B(0,1))$, where $B(0,1)$ ...
- 617
12
votes
3
answers
870
views
Measure theory in nuclear spaces
Much of the literature on measure theory in linear spaces focuses on the case of normed linear spaces (e.g., the outstanding book by Vakhania, or its sequel). However, nuclear linear spaces "as far ...
- 8,512
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Does there exist an event independent of a given sigma-algebra?
The following question came up in a discussion with my advisor:
Let $(\Omega, \mathcal F, \mathbb P)$ be a non-trivial probability space, and suppose that $\mathcal G$ is a proper sub-$\sigma$-...
- 8,512
11
votes
1
answer
950
views
Uniformization/measurable selection theorems
Let $X,Y$ be measurable spaces and $F\subseteq X\times Y$. We say that $f:X\to Y$ is a uniformization map for $F$ if $(x,f(x))\in F$ for each $x\in \pi_X(F)$ where $\pi_X$ is the left projection map. ...
- 1,655
10
votes
4
answers
792
views
Speed of convergence in Lebesgue's density theorem
Let $\lambda=\text{unif}([0,1])$ be uniform distribution on $[0,1]$ and $B$ be any Borel set. Lebesgue's density theorem states that for $\lambda$-almost all $x\in[0,1]$ the limit
$$\lim_{\epsilon\...
- 265
9
votes
1
answer
950
views
Sort-of converse of Kolmogorov zero-one theorem
Let $(\Omega, \mathscr F, \mathbb P)$ be a probability space. The Kolmogorov zero-one theorem states that
Suppose we have independent random variables $X_1, X_2, ...$. Then $\forall \ A \in \bigcap_n ...
- 247
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Conditional law as a random measure and convergence of random measures
I'm looking for a reference book or article for the following two facts. In both statements, a Polish space $E$ and an ambient probability space $(\Omega, {\cal A}, \Pr)$ are given, and I consider ...
- 2,560
8
votes
1
answer
969
views
Probabilities independent of ZFC?
Hi guys,
is it possible to change the probability of an event via forcing? More precisely, is there an innocent looking question on the probability of "something" whose answer is independent of ZFC?
...
- 165
8
votes
1
answer
726
views
continuity of the Boltzmann entropy in the Wasserstein metric
For Lebesgue-absolutely continuous probability measures $\rho\ll \mathcal{L}^d$ in the whole space $\mathbb{R}^d$ with finite second moments (i-e $\rho\in \mathcal{P}^2_{ac}(\mathbb{R}^d)$), let
$$
\...
- 5,380
7
votes
1
answer
261
views
Comparison of several topologies for probability measures
Let $X$ be a compact metric space and denote $\mathcal M(X)$ the set of probability measures on $X$. For $\mu\in\mathcal M(X)$ we write $\operatorname{supp} \mu$ for the support of $\mu$. As is well ...
- 243
7
votes
2
answers
649
views
What's the standard name for sets of a given size with maximal probability (or a given probability and minimal size)?
The definition I'm going to give isn't quite the concept I really want, but it's a good approximation. I don't want to make the definition too technical and specific because if there's a standard name ...
- 5,992
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Topological conditions of Kolmogorov Extension Theorem
KET is often used to construct stochastic processes in continuous time when the state space is $\Bbb R^d$. As far as I am familiar with its proof, it uses standard monotonic class-like arguments ...
- 1,655
6
votes
3
answers
938
views
Uniformly distributed sequence in $\mathbb{R}$
We say that a sequence $(x_n)_{n=1}^\infty \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ is "uniformly distributed in $[a,b]$", with $a < b$, if $(x_n)_{n=1}^\infty \cap [a,b] \neq \varnothing$ and
$$\lim_{N \to \infty} \...
- 61
6
votes
2
answers
756
views
Kolmogorov vs Ionescu-Tulcea extension theorem (again)
Disclaimer. This post is not a duplicate, I have carefully (best I could) read all posts on the subject both here and on math.se and my particular questions have not been asked there.
I've recently ...
- 620
6
votes
1
answer
798
views
Prohorov's theorem for random elements of Hilbert space: weak convergence
Let $(\Omega,\mathcal{F},P)$ be a probability space and let $(E,\mathcal{E})$ be a separable Hilbert space ($E$) with Borel $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal{E}$. For concreteness let us set $E=L^{2}[a,b]$ ...
- 61
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
About the generating structure of Borel field
This is a graduate-level measure theory problem. I have thought throught it and asked on math.SE but received no satisfying answer.
On P.32 of [P.Billingsley] Probability and Measure, 3ed, 1993, the ...
- 8,071
6
votes
1
answer
196
views
Simultaneous simulation of all probability measures on a compact metric space
A well known fact in probability is that a uniform random variable on $[0,1]$ can be used to simulate any other probability distribution on $\mathbb{R}$.
A standard way of doing this is to define, ...
- 4,304
5
votes
1
answer
319
views
Spherical average of $\frac{1}{x}$
Let $X_1,...,X_n$ be points on $\mathbb S^1.$
We then define the expectation value $E(X)=\frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^n X_i.$
Let $\frac{dS(X_1)}{2\pi}$ be the normalized surface measure of $\mathbb S^1,$ i....
- 124
5
votes
1
answer
945
views
Has a discrete/quantum theory of probability based on the Cournot-Borel principle or something been developed?
In 1930, Émile Borel, the father of measure theory together with his student Lebesgue and a world-class expert in probability theory, published a short note Sur les probabilités universellement ...
- 1,026
4
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Uncountable family of random variables
Let $\{ \xi _a \}_{a \in [0;1]}$ be a family of independent uniformly distributed on $[0;1]$ random variables on some probability space
$(\Omega, \mathscr{F},P)$, indexed by a continuous parameter. ...
- 724