Infinitely often

Definition (Infinitely often)

For a sequence of events An,n∈NA_n,n\in\mathbb{N} lim sup⁡n→∞An:=⋂n=1∞⋃i=n∞Ai={Ai i.o.}\limsup_{n\to\infty}A_n:=\bigcap_{n=1}^\infty \bigcup_{i=n}^\infty A_i=\{ A_{i}\text{ i.o.} \}

Definition (Almost always)

For a sequence of events (An)n∈N(A_{n})_{n\in \mathbb{N}}: lim inf⁡n→∞An=⋃n=1∞⋂i=n∞Ai={Ai a.a.}\liminf_{n\to \infty}A_{n}=\bigcup_{n=1}^{\infty}\bigcap_{i=n}^{\infty}A_{i}=\{ A_{i}\text{ a.a.} \}

Definition (Increasing Events)

Given a Probability Space and a sequence of events (An)n≥1(A_{n})_{n\ge 1}, we write An↗AA_{n}\nearrow A to mean that A1⊆A2⊆⋯⊆An⊆…A_{1}\subseteq A_{2}\subseteq\dots \subseteq A_{n}\subseteq\dotsi.e. that AnA_{n} are increasing events.

Definition (Decreasing Events)

Given a Probability Space and a sequence of events (An)n≥1(A_{n})_{n\ge 1}, we write An↘AA_{n}\searrow A to mean that A1⊇A2⊇⋯⊇An⊇…A_{1}\supseteq A_{2}\supseteq\dots \supseteq A_{n}\supseteq\dotsi.e. that AnA_{n} are decreasing events.

Proposition

lim sup⁡n→∞An={ω∈Ω:ω∈Ai for infinitely many i}lim inf⁡n→∞An={ω∈Ω:ω∈Ai, ∀i except finitely many}\begin{align*} \limsup_{n\to\infty}A_{n}&=\{\omega\in\Omega: \omega\in A_i \text{ for infinitely many }i\}\\ \liminf_{ n \to \infty } A_{n}&= \{ \omega \in\Omega:\omega \in A_{i},\ \forall i \text{ except finitely many} \} \end{align*}

Proposition (3.4.1)

P(lim inf⁡n→∞An)≤lim inf⁡n→∞P(An)≤lim sup⁡n→∞P(An)≤P(lim sup⁡n→∞An)\mathbb{P}\left(\liminf_{ n \to \infty } A_{n}\right)\le \liminf_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}(A_{n})\le \limsup_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}(A_{n})\le \mathbb{P}\left(\limsup_{ n \to \infty } A_{n}\right)

\begin{proof} The middle inequality holds by definition so we prove only the first inequality since the last holds using the same logic.

First recall that lim inf⁡n→∞An=⋃n≥1⋂k≥nAk\liminf_{ n \to \infty }A_{n}=\bigcup_{n\ge 1} \bigcap_{k\ge n} A_{k} Then note that ⋂k≥nAk\bigcap_{k\ge n}A_{k} is a sequence of Increasing Events in nn to lim inf⁡n→∞An\liminf_{ n \to \infty }A_{n}, hence by Continuity of Probability we have P(lim inf⁡n→∞An)=P(⋃n⋂k≥nAk)=lim⁡n→∞P(⋂k≥nAk)=lim inf⁡n→∞P(⋂k≥nAk)\mathbb{P}\left(\liminf_{ n \to \infty } A_{n}\right)=\mathbb{P}\left( \bigcup_{n}\bigcap_{k\ge n}A_{k} \right)=\lim_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}\left( \bigcap_{k\ge n} A_{k} \right)=\liminf_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}\left( \bigcap_{k\ge n}A_{k} \right)and since An⊇⋂k≥nAkA_{n}\supseteq\bigcap_{k\ge n}A_{k}, by Monotonicity of Probability Measure we have lim inf⁡n→∞P(⋂k≥nAk)≤lim inf⁡n→∞P(An).\liminf_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}\left( \bigcap_{k\ge n} A_{k}\right)\le\liminf_{ n \to \infty } \mathbb{P}(A_{n}).

\end{proof} >[!rmk] >The Infinitely often is useful for characterizing “rare events” in a stochastic process or for understanding the long-term behavior of random systems. > In simpler terms, it can answer questions like, “Given a random process, what can we say will eventually happen with certainty?” This is crucial for understanding phenomena where we’re not just interested in immediate or short-term randomness but also in the behavior of the system over an extended period.

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