Divergence of normalized iid partial sums without a first absolute moment
ID: divergence-of-normalized-iid-partial-sums-without-a-first-absolute-moment
For independent identically distributed random variables, the tail-sum formula applied to shows that for every when the first absolute moment is infinite. The Borel-Cantelli second lemma, followed by a countable intersection over positive integer , gives the first limsup assertion.
If had finite limsup along such a sample path, it would eventually be bounded by some finite constant . Then would imply eventually, a contradiction. This is a necessary-integrability counterpart to the strong law of large numbers; without a finite first absolute moment, the normalized sums cannot converge to any finite value.
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