Write and . The given two-sided limit implies , so . For each fixed real , independence and the characteristic function of a sum of independent variables give
Set . For , and . The local Taylor expansion of the complex logarithm at gives
Thus ; at the identity is immediate. The limit is continuous at zero and is the characteristic function of the constant random variable . The Lévy continuity theorem proves the weak law from a characteristic-function expansion:
No integrability hypothesis has been used. The conclusion is also convergence in probability by (d)'s convergence in distribution to a constant implies convergence in probability. If the word “constant” were to allow complex , the characteristic function symmetry forces , so it is necessarily real.
Let be independent and identically distributed random variables with the standard Cauchy distribution, whose probability density function is
Its first absolute moment diverges since
On the other hand, its characteristic function is . The characteristic function of a sum of independent variables therefore gives
Thus the stability of the Cauchy distribution implies that has the standard Cauchy distribution for every . In particular,
where is standard Cauchy and denotes convergence in distribution.
Differentiability gives at zero. By the characteristic function of a sum of independent variables,
the characteristic function of the constant . The Lévy continuity theorem yields , and convergence in distribution to a constant is equivalent to convergence in probability.