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. 2018 Mar 20;2018(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s13660-018-1655-5

Some limit theorems for weighted negative quadrant dependent random variables with infinite mean

Fuqiang Ma 1,, Jianmin Li 1, Tiantian Hou 1
PMCID: PMC5860150  PMID: 29576719

Abstract

In the present paper, we will investigate weak laws of large numbers for weighted pairwise NQD random variables with infinite mean. The almost sure upper and lower bounds for a particular normalized weighted sum of pairwise NQD nonnegative random variables are established also.

Keywords: Strong law, Weak law of large numbers, Pairwise negative quadrant dependent sequence

Introduction

With Markov’s truncation method, Kolmogorov got a weak law of large numbers for independent identically random variables with a necessary and sufficient condition, which is called the Kolmogorov–Feller weak law of large numbers.

Theorem 1.1

([1])

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of i.i.d. random variables with partial sums Sn=X1++Xn. Then

SnnEX11{|X1|n}nP0,as n,

if and only if

xP(|X1|>x)0,as x. 1.1

The theorem states the condition of the mean’s existence is not necessary, and St. Petersburg game (see [2]) and Feller game (see [3]), which are well known as the typical examples, are formulated by a nonnegative random variable X with the tail probability

P(X>x)xα 1.2

for each fixed 0<α1, where anbn denotes

0<lim infnanbnlim supnanbn<.

Nakata [4] considered truncated random variables and studied strong laws of large numbers and central limit theorems in this situation. In [5], Nakata studied the weak laws of large numbers for weighted independent random variables with the tail probability (1.2) and explored the case that the decay order of the tail probability is −1. In this paper, we shall consider the more general random sequence with infinite mean.

Let us recall the concept of negative quadrant dependent (NQD) random variables, which was introduced by Lehmann [6].

Definition 1.1

Two random variables X and Y are said to be NQD if for any x,yR

P(Xx,Yy)P(Xx)P(Yy).

A sequence of random variables {Xn,n1} is said to be pairwise NQD if, for all i,jN, ij, Xi and Xj are NQD.

Because pairwise NQD includes the independent, NA (negatively associated), NOD (negatively orthant dependent) and LNQD (linearly negative quadrant dependent), it is a more general dependence structure. It is necessary to study its probabilistic properties.

Definition 1.2

A finite sequence {X1,,Xn} of random variables is said to be NA if for any disjoint subsets A, B of {1,,n} and any real coordinatewise nondecreasing functions f on R|A| and g on R|B|,

Cov(f(Xk,kA),g(Xk,kB))0 1.3

whenever the covariance exists, where |A| denotes the cardinality of A. An infinite family of random variables is NA if every finite subfamily is NA.

The concept of a NA sequence was introduced by Joag-Dev and Proschan [7], and it is easy to see that a sequence of NA random variables is a pairwise NQD sequence.

In the present paper, we suppose that all random variables satisfy the condition

P(|X|>x)xαfor a fixed 0<α1. 1.4

In Sect. 2, we will investigate weak laws of large numbers for weighted pairwise NQD random variables with the common distribution (1.4). The almost sure upper and lower bounds for a particular normalized weighted sum of pairwise NQD nonnegative random variables will be established in Sect. 3. Throughout this paper, the symbol C represents positive constants whose values may change from one place to another.

Weak law of large numbers

In this section, we extend the corresponding results in Nakata [5] from the case of i.i.d. random variables to pairwise NQD random variables.

Main results

We state our weak law of large numbers for different weighted sums of pairwise NQD random variables.

Theorem 2.1

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables whose distributions satisfy

P(|Xj|>x)xαfor j1

and

lim supxsupj1xαP(|Xj|>x)<.

If there exist two positive sequences {aj} and {bj} satisfying

j=1najα=o(bnα), 2.1

then it follows that

limn1bnj=1naj(XjEXj1{|Xj|bnaj})=0in probability. 2.2

In particular, if there exists a constant A such that

limn1bnj=1najEXj1{|Xj|bnaj}=A,

then we have

limn1bnj=1najXj=Ain probability.

From Theorem 2.1 and by using the same methods as in Nakata [5] to calculate the constant A, we can obtain the following four corollaries for the pairwise NQD random variables.

Corollary 2.1

Under the assumptions of Theorem 2.1, if 0<α<1, then we have

limn1bnj=1najXj=0in probability.

Corollary 2.2

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of nonnegative pairwise NQD random variables whose distributions satisfy

P(|Xj|>x)=(x+qj)1for x0.

If qj1 for any positive integer j,and

Qn:=j=1nqj1,as n. 2.3

Then we have

limnj=1nqj1XjQnlogQn=1in probability.

Corollary 2.3

Let us suppose the assumptions of Corollary 2.2 and qj=j in Eq. (2.3). Then, for any γ>1 and real δ, we have

limnj=1nj1(logj)γ(loglogj)δXj(logn)γ+1(loglogn)δ+1=1γ+1in probability.

Corollary 2.4

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables whose common distribution satisfies (1.4) with α=1. If there exists a real Q such that

limxEX1(|X|x)logx=Q.

Then, for each real β>1 and slowly varying sequence l(n), it follows that

limnj=1njβl(j)Xjnβ+1l(n)logn=Q1+βin probability.

Theorem 2.2

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables whose distributions satisfy

P(|Xj|>x)xαfor j1

and

lim supxsupj1xαP(|Xj|>x)<.

If there exist two positive sequences {aj} and {bj} satisfying

(log2n)j=1najα=o(bnα). 2.4

Then it follows that

limn1bnmax1kn|j=1kaj(XjEXj1{|Xj|bnaj})|=0in probability. 2.5

Corollary 2.5

Under the assumptions of Theorem 2.2, if 0<α<1, then we have

limn1bnmax1kn|j=1kajXj|=0in probability.

Remark 2.1

If {Xi,i1} is a sequence of NA random variables satisfying the assumptions of Theorem 2.2, then from the maximal inequality of NA random variables (see [8, Theorem 2]), the condition (2.4) can be weakened by (2.1).

Proofs of Theorem 2.1 and Theorem 2.2

We first give some useful lemmas.

Lemma 2.1

([5])

If a random variable X satisfies (1.4), then it follows that

E(|X|1(|X|x)){x1α,if 0<α<1,logx,if α=1,

and

E(|X|21(|X|x))x2αfor 0<α1.

Lemma 2.2

([6])

Let {Xn,n1} be a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables. Let {fn,n1} be a sequence of increasing functions. Then {fn(Xn),n1} is a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables.

Lemma 2.3

([9])

Let {Xn,n1} be a sequence of pairwise NQD random variables with mean zero and EXn2<, and Tj(k)=i=j+1j+kXi, j0. Then

E(Tj(k))2Ci=j+1j+kEXi2,Emax1kn(Tj(k))2Clog2ni=j+1j+nEXi2.

Proof of Theorem 2.1

For any 1in, let us define

Yni=bn1(aiXi<bn)+aiXi1(ai|Xi|bn)+bn1(aiXi>bn)

and

Zni=(aiXi+bn)1(aiXi<bn)+(aiXibn)1(aiXi>bn).

Then from Lemma 2.2 it follows that {Yni,1in,n1} and {Zni,1in,n1} are both pairwise NQD, and

i=1naiXi=i=1n(Yni+Zni).

Furthermore, let us define Xni=Xi1(ai|Xi|bn), then the limit (2.2) holds if we show

limn1bni=1n(YniEYni)=0in probability, 2.6
limn1bni=1n(aiXiYni)=0in probability, 2.7

and

limn1bni=1n(aiEXniEYni)=0. 2.8

Using the proof of Lemma 2.2 in [4], we get

1bn2i=1nai2E[Xi21(ai|Xi|bn)]0

and

i=1nP(ai|Xi|bn)0.

From Lemma 2.1 and Lemma 2.3, we have

1bn2Var(i=1n(YniEYni))Cbn2i=1nEYni2Cbn2i=1nai2E[Xi21(ai|Xi|bn)]+Ci=1nP(ai|Xi|bn)0,

which implies (2.6). Similarly, for any r>0, we have

P(1bn|i=1nZni|>r)P(i=1n{ai|Xi|>bn})i=1nP(ai|Xi|>bn)0,

which yields (2.7). Finally, (2.8) holds since

1bn|i=1n(aiEXniEYni)|Ci=1nP(ai|Xi|>bn)0.

Based on the above discussions, the desired results are obtained. □

Proof of Theorem 2.2

By a proof similar to that of Theorem 2.1, it is enough to show

limn1bnmax1kn|i=1k(YniEYni)|=0in probability, 2.9
limn1bnmax1kn|i=1k(aiXiYni)|=0in probability, 2.10

and

limn1bnmax1kn|i=1k(aiEXniEYni)|=0. 2.11

From Lemma 2.1 and Lemma 2.3, we have

1bn2E(max1kn|i=1k(YniEYni)|2)Clog2nbn2i=1nEYni2Clog2nbn2i=1nai2E[Xi21(ai|Xi|bn)]+Clog2ni=1nP(ai|Xi|bn)Clog2nbn2i=1nai2(bn/ai)2α+Clog2nbnαi=1naiα0,

which implies (2.9). Similarly, for any r>0, we have

P(1bnmax1kn|i=1kZni|>r)P(i=1n{ai|Xi|>bn})i=1nP(ai|Xi|>bn)0,

which yields (2.10). At last

1bnmax1kn|i=1k(aiEXniEYni)|Ci=1nP(ai|Xi|>bn)0.

Based on the above discussions, the desired result is obtained. □

One side strong law

Adler [10] considered the almost sure upper and lower bounds for a particular normalized weighted sum of independent nonnegative random variables (see Corollary 2.2). In this section, we extend his work from the independent case to pairwise NQD nonnegative random variables.

Main results

Theorem 3.1

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of nonnegative pairwise NQD random variables whose distributions satisfy

P(|Xj|>x)=(x+qj)1for x0

where qj1 for any positive integer j, and

Qn:=j=1nqj1,as n. 3.1

If

n=1qn1QnlogQn=, 3.2

then we have

lim supnj=1nqj1XjQnlogQn=almost surely.

Theorem 3.2

Let {Xi,i1} be a sequence of nonnegative pairwise NQD random variables whose distributions satisfy

P(Xj>x)=(x+qj)1for x0

where qj1 for any positive integer j, and

Qn:=j=1nqj1,as n. 3.3

If there is a sequence {dn,n1} such that

limn1QnlogQnj=1nqj1log(qj1dj)=1 3.4

and

n=1qn2dnlog2nQn2log2Qn<, 3.5

then we have

lim infn1QnlogQnj=1nqj1Xj=1almost surely.

Remark 3.1

For the independent case, the assumption (3.5) can be weakened by the following condition (see [10]):

n=1qn2dnQn2log2Qn<. 3.6

If {Xi,i1} is a sequence of NA random variables, then from the maximal inequality of NA random variables (see [8, Theorem 2]), the condition (3.5) can be weakened by (3.6).

Remark 3.2

Let us give an example to show that the conditions (3.4) and (3.5) can be satisfied. If we choose qj1=jα, dj=j/log2j where α>1, then it is easy to show

Qnnα+1α+1,QnlogQnnα+1logn,i=1nqi1logqi1=αi=1niαlogiαα+1nα+1logn,

and

i=1nqi1logdi=i=1niα(logi2loglogi)1α+1nα+1logn.

Hence we have

1QnlogQnj=1nqj1log(qj1dj)1

and

n=1qn2dnlog2nQn2log2Qn=n=1n2αnn2(α+1)log2n<.

Proofs of Theorem 3.1 and Theorem 3.2

Before giving our proofs, we need the following useful lemmas.

Lemma 3.1

([11])

Let {An,n1} be a sequence of events, such that n=1P(An)=. Then

P(An,i.o.)lim supn(k=1nP(Ak))2i,k=1nP(AiAk).

Lemma 3.2

([9])

Let {Xn,n1} be pairwise NQD random sequences. If

n=1log2nVar(Xn)<,

then we have

n=1(XnEXn)converges almost surely.

Proof of Theorem 3.1

For any M>0, we have

n=1P(qn1XnQnlogQn>M)=n=1P(Xn>MQnlogQnqn1)=.

Let us define An={Xn>MQnlogQnqn1}, then we have

P(AiAk)P(Ai)P(Ak),

where we used the fact that {Xn,n1} is a sequence of nonnegative pairwise NQD random variables. Hence from Lemma 3.1, we get

lim supnqn1XnQnlogQn=almost surely,

which yields

lim supni=1nqi1XiQnlogQnlim supnqn1XnQnlogQn=almost surely.

 □

Proof Theorem 3.2

For n1, let us define

Yn=Xn1(Xndn)+dn1(Xn>dn)

and

Zn=(Xndn)1(Xn>dn).

Then from Lemma 2.2 it follows that {Yn,n1} and {Zn,n1} are both pairwise NQD, and

i=1nqi1Xi=i=1nqi1(Yi+Zi)=i=1nqi1(YiEYi)+i=1nqi1Zi+i=1nqi1EYi. 3.7

Since

EYn2C(EXn21(Xndn)+dn2P(Xn>dn))=C(0dnx2(x+qn)2dx+dn2dn1(x+qn)2dx)Cdn,

then from the condition (3.5), we have

n=1qn2log2nVar(Yn)Qn2log2Qnn=1qn2log2ndnQn2log2Qn<.

Thus by Lemma 3.2, we have

n=1qn1(YnEYn)QnlogQnconverges almost surely,

which, by the Kronecker lemma, implies that

limni=1nqi1(YiEYi)QnlogQn=0almost surely. 3.8

Furthermore, since

EYn=EXn1(Xndn)+dnP(Xn>dn)=0dnx(x+qn)2dx+dndn1(x+qn)2dx=qndn+qn1xdxqnqndn+qn1x2dx+dndn1(x+qn)2dx=log(1+dn/qn)1+qndn+qn+dndn+qn=log(1+dn/qn)

then by the condition (3.4) we have

limni=1nqi1EYiQnlogQn=1almost surely. 3.9

Hence, from (3.7), (3.8) and (3.9), we have

lim infni=1nqi1XiQnlogQnlimni=1nqi1(YiEYi)QnlogQn+limni=1nqi1EYiQnlogQn=1. 3.10

By Corollary 2.2, we have

lim infni=1nqi1XiQnlogQn1almost surely. 3.11

So, from (3.10) and (3.11), we have

lim infni=1nqi1XiQnlogQn=1almost surely.

 □

Acknowledgements

The authors are most grateful to the editor and anonymous referee for careful reading of the manuscript and valuable suggestions, which helped in improving an earlier version of this paper. This work is supported by IRTSTHN (14IRTSTHN023), NSFC (11471104).

Authors’ contributions

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Footnotes

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Contributor Information

Fuqiang Ma, Email: mafq0314@126.com.

Jianmin Li, Email: ljm650311@sina.com.

Tiantian Hou, Email: 858225897@qq.com.

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