Is a Cauchy distribution absolutely continuous with respect to a Gaussian distribution

absolute-continuitymeasure-theoryprobability theory

This stack exchange answer showed that Kullback-Leibler divergence between a Cauchy distribution and a Gaussian distribution is infinite.

Formally, $$KL(P||Q)=\infty$$, where $P$ is a Cauchy distribution with probability density function $$p(x)= \frac{1}{\pi}\frac{1}{1+x^2}$$ and $Q$ is a Gaussian distribution with pdf $$ q(x) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi}}\exp\left(-\frac{x^2}{2}\right) $$, both of which are defined over a real line.

My question is whether $P$ is absolutely continuous with respect to $Q$.

The reason why I am asking this is I want to know if the lack of absolute continuity is responsible for the infinite KL divergence.

Best Answer

Yes, each is absolutely continuous with respect to the other. If, for instance, $\int_A p(x)\,dx = 0$ then you know $\int_A q(x)\,dx = 0$. And conversely.

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