Skip to main content
2 of 6
characteristic function -> moment generating function
George Lowther
  • 17.1k
  • 1
  • 66
  • 98

You can decompose the exponential distribution into a sum of two terms, neither of which are gamma distributed.

Let A,B,ε be independent where A,B are exponentially distributed and ε takes the values 0,1 each with probability 1/2, and set X=A/2, Y=εB. You can calculate the moment generating functions of X and Y, $$ E\left[\exp(-\lambda X)\right] = E\left[\exp(-(\lambda/2)A)\right]=1/(1+\lambda/2). $$ $$ E\left[\exp(-\lambda Y)\right]=(1/2)E\left[\exp(-\lambda B)\right]+1/2=(2+\lambda)/(2+2\lambda). $$ Then you can check the moment generating function function of X+Y, E[exp(-λ(X+Y)]=E[exp(-λX)]E[exp(-λY)]=1/(1+λ) to see that X+Y has the exponential distribution.

George Lowther
  • 17.1k
  • 1
  • 66
  • 98