Proof of Theorem 9.10 in Rudin’s Real & Complex Analysis

convolutionfourier analysisfourier transformjensen-inequalityreal-analysis

This theorem essentially states that an $L^p$ function can be approximated in the $L^p$ norm by convolutions with a suitable kernel, and I'm having a bit of trouble seeing how Rudin obtains one of the inequalities in his proof. The statement of the theorem is as follows:

If $1\leq p<\infty$ and $f\in L^p$, then
$$
\lim_{\lambda\to 0}\lVert f\ast h_\lambda-f\rVert_p = 0.
$$

Here, $$h_\lambda(x)=\int_{-\infty}^\infty H(\lambda t)e^{itx}\,dm(t) = \sqrt{\frac{2}{\pi}}\frac{\lambda}{\lambda^2+x^2},$$
where $H(t)=e^{-|t|}$, $\lambda>0$, and $m$ is Lebesgue measure divided by $2\pi$. Note that $\int_{-\infty}^\infty h_\lambda(x)\,dm(x)=1$ for all $\lambda>0$. In the proof of the theorem, Rudin says this:

We have
$$ (f\ast h_\lambda)(x)-f(x) = \int_{-\infty}^\infty [f(x-y)-f(x)]h_\lambda(y)\,dm(y)$$ and Theorem 3.3 [Jensen's inequality] gives
$$ |(f\ast h_\lambda)(x)-f(x)|^p \leq \int_{-\infty}^\infty |f(x-y)-f(x)|^p h_\lambda(y)\,dm(y).$$

I do not see how Jensen's inequality can be applied here, as the domain of integration has infinite measure. And even if we were to apply Jensen's inequality with the convex function $t\mapsto |t|^p$, then it seems that the integrand on the right would contain $|h_\lambda(y)|^p$ rather than $h_\lambda(y)$. I would appreciate any insight.

Best Answer

The measure in question is $d\mu(y)=h_\lambda (y)dm(y).$ Note that $\mu$ is a positive measure on $\mathbb R$ with $\mu(\mathbb R)=1.$