[Math] Is the n-dim lebesgue measure the product of the lebesgue measure

measure-theoryreal-analysis

Let $\mathfrak{M}$ be the sigma-algebra of the n-dimensional Lebesgue measurable sets (Completion of translation invariant measure having 1 for $[0,1]^n$)

Let $\Sigma$ be the sigma-algebra of the Lebesgue-measurable sets in $\mathbb{R}$.

Is $\mathfrak{M}$ the sigma-algebra generated by $\{\prod_{i=1}^n p(i) : p\in \Sigma^n\}$?

Best Answer

The product $\sigma$-algebra $\bigotimes^n\Sigma$ lies strictly between the Borel $\sigma$-algebra $\mathcal{B}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ and the $\sigma$-algebra $\mathfrak{M}$ of Lebesgue-measurable subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$ (for $n > 1$). Since the latter is already the completion of the Borel $\sigma$-algebra with respect to the Lebesgue measure, it is also the completion of $\bigotimes^n\Sigma$ with respect to the Lebesgue measure.

Since there are Lebesgue-measurable sets that are not Borel sets, the one strict containment is clear.

For the other, let $N\subset \mathbb{R}$ a non-measurable set. Then $N\times \{0\}^{n-1}$ is a Lebesgue null-set in $\mathbb{R}^n$, but does not belong to $\bigotimes^n\Sigma$. To see the latter, note that for $M\in \bigotimes^n\Sigma$, every section $M_y = \{x \in \mathbb{R} : (x,y) \in M\}, \; y \in \mathbb{R}^{n-1}$ arbitrary, lies in $\Sigma$.

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