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Robin Chapman
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connection between the Gaussian and the Cauchy distribution

I have always been surprised by the fact that the quotient of two independent Gaussian random variables is a Cauchy Random variable - as this is often the case, coincidence in mathematics are not accidental: is there any deep explanations behind this connection between the Gaussian and the Cauchy distribution ?

other examples:

  • if a $2$-dimensional Brownian motion $(X_t, Y_t)$ is started at $(0,1)$ and stopped the first time $T$ that it hits the real axis, then $X_T$ is also distributed as a Cauchy distribution.
  • the Cauchy distribution also shows up when studying how a complex brownian motion winds around the origin.
Alekk
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