[Math] liminf and limsup of a sequence

real-analysis

I came across the following problem:

Find $\text{lim inf} \ a_n$ and $\text{lim sup} \ a_n$ for the following sequence: $a_n = (-1)^{n}+1/n$.

So define $A_n = \{a_{n+1}, a_{n+2}, \dots \} = \{a_k: k \geq n \}$. I think $$A_{n} = \begin{cases} 1+ \frac{1}{n} \ \ \ \ \ \text{if} \ n \ \text{is even} \\ -1 + \frac{1}{n} \ \ \text{if} \ n \ \text{is odd} \end{cases}$$

Now define $$\text{lim sup} \ a_n = b = \inf \limits_{n \geq 1} \ b_n = \inf_{n \geq 1} \left(\sup\limits_{k \geq n} \ a_k \right)$$ and $$\text{lim inf} \ a_n = c = \sup\limits_{n \geq 1} \ c_n = \sup_{n \geq 1} \left(\inf\limits_{k \geq n} \ a_k \right)$$

where $b_n = \sup A_n$ and $c_n = \inf A_n$. I think $b_n = 1+\frac{1}{n}$ for even $n$ and $c_n = -1+\frac{1}{n}$ for odd $n$. Thus $$\text{lim sup} \ a_n = \inf\limits_{n \geq 1} \ \left(1+ \frac{1}{n} \right)= 1$$ and $$\text{lim inf} \ a_n = \sup\limits_{n \geq 1} \ \left(-1+ \frac{1}{n} \right)= 0$$

It follows that the sequence is not convergent. Would this be correct?

Edit. For $n$ even, $a_2 = 1+ \frac{1}{2}$, $a_4 = 1+ \frac{1}{4}$ etc…For $n$ odd, $a_1= 0$, $a_3= -1+ \frac{1}{3}$, etc…

So I get the correct infimum but the wrong supremum. Do I drop $a_1$, $a_3$, etc…? For example, $a_{240} = 1+ \frac{1}{240}$ and $a_{241} = -1+\frac{1}{241}$. So I only look at $A_n$ for large $n$?

Best Answer

You ask whether or not your reasoning is correct. It is close, but not quite there.

Let's start from the beginning. We have $a_n = (-1)^n + 1/n$. Now, we can define (as you did), the sequence of sequences $$A_n = \{a_k\colon k \geq n\} = \{a_n, a_{n+1}, \ldots\}.$$ Note that each $A_n$ is not a number, but rather a sequence of numbers. (This makes your guess for $A_n$ incorrect.)

Now, by definition $$b = \limsup a_n = \inf_{n\geq 1}\ \sup_{k\geq n} a_k = \inf_{n\geq 1}\sup\{a_k\colon k \geq n\} = \inf_{n\geq 1}(\sup A_n) = \inf_{n\geq 1}\, b_n$$ $$c = \liminf a_n = \sup_{n\geq 1}\ \inf_{k\geq n} a_k = \sup_{n\geq 1}\inf\{a_k\colon k \geq n\} = \sup_{n\geq 1}(\inf A_n) = \sup_{n\geq 1} \,c_n,$$ where we let $b_n = \sup A_n$ and $c_n = \inf A_n$, as you did.

So let's compute $b_n = \sup A_n$ and $c_n = \inf A_n$.


Claim: We claim that $$b_n = \sup A_n = \begin{cases} 1 + \frac{1}{n} \ \ \ \text{ if } n \text{ is even} \\ 1 + \frac{1}{n+1} \ \ \ \text{ if } n \text{ is odd} \end{cases}$$ and $$c_n = \inf A_n = -1 \ \ \text{ for all } n \geq 1.$$

Proof: Let's look at $b_n$ first. If $n$ is even, then $$A_n = \left\{1 + \frac{1}{n}, \ -1 + \frac{1}{n+1}, \ 1 +\frac{1}{n+2}, \ldots\right\}.$$ It is clear that $A_n$ contains a largest element, namely $1 + \frac{1}{n}$. (If you don't find this fully precise, I invite you to fill in the details.) Therefore, $\sup A_n = 1 + \frac{1}{n}$ when $n$ is even. If $n$ is odd, then $$A_n = \left\{-1 + \frac{1}{n}, \ 1 +\frac{1}{n+1}, \ -1 + \frac{1}{n+2}, \ldots\right\}.$$ Again, $A_n$ contains a largest element, namely $1 + \frac{1}{n+1}$, so that $\sup A_n = 1 + \frac{1}{n+1}$. This verifies the claim about $b_n$.

Let's look at $c_n$ now. We want to show that $\inf A_n = -1$, i.e. that $-1$ is the greatest lower bound of $A_n = \{a_k\colon k\geq n\}$.

Now, since $-1 < a_k$ for every $k \geq n$ (you can check this), it follows that $-1$ is a lower bound of $A_n$. To show that it is the greatest lower bound, we need to show that if $q > -1$, then $q$ is not a lower bound for $A_n$.

Let $q > -1$. Choose $k \geq n$ large enough so that $k > \frac{1}{q+1}$. Then $k(q+1) > 1$, so $q+1 > \frac{1}{k}$, so $q > -1 + \frac{1}{k}$. But $-1 + \frac{1}{k}$ is an element of $A_n$ (since $k \geq n$), and we just showed that it is less than $q$. Therefore, $q$ is not a lower bound for $A_n$. We therefore conclude that $\inf A_n = -1$ (for all $n \geq 1$).

This proves the claim.


Finally, it follows from our claim (I leave the details to you) that $$b = \limsup a_n = \inf_{n\geq 1}\ b_n = 1$$ and $$c = \liminf a_n = \sup_{n\geq 1} \ c_n = -1.$$