 Principle of the largest exponential term

For a fixed finite number of nonnegative terms and $a_L\to \infty$, use ${\max }_j{p}_{j,L}\le {\sum }_j{p}_{j,L}\le r{\max }_j{p}_{j,L}$. The logarithm of $r$, divided by the large-deviation speed, tends to zero, and a finite maximum commutes with the limit superior. If all individual logarithmic limits exist, the limit of the sum is their maximum.