[Math] Martingales: Expectation of almost-sure limit

convergence-divergenceexpectationmartingalesmeasure-theoryprobability theory

Let $X_n, n\geq 0$ be a martingale. We know that $E[X_n]=E[X_m]$ for all $m, n \geq 0$. Moreover suppose that $X_n \rightarrow X$ P-a.s.

What do we know about $E[X]$? Is it clear that $E[X]=E[X_0]$?

What if $X_n$ is a submartingale? Is it clear that $E[X] \geq E[X_0]$? And the analogous result for a supermartingale?

What if the convergence is not P-a.s. but in $L^p$ for some $p \geq 1$?

Best Answer

$X := \lim X_n$ right?

Well we want to know if $E[\lim X_n] = \lim E[X_n] (= \lim E[X_0] = E[X_0])$.

Depending on the $X_n$, we may or may not have $E[\lim X_n] = \lim E[X_n]$.

We could use Fatou's Lemmas to say that

$$E[\liminf X_n] \le \liminf E[X_n] \le \limsup E[X_n] \le E[\limsup X_n] \to E[\lim X_n] = \lim E[X_n]$$

but we need the $X_n$'s to satisfy the assumptions of Fatou's Lemmas


For a super/sub mart, we have:

$$E[X] := E[\lim X_n] \stackrel{if}{=} \lim E[X_n] \le / \ge \lim E[X_0] = E[X_0]$$

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