By the causality root criterion for an autoregressive model, choose smaller than the modulus of every root of . The function is an analytic function on and inside . Writing , the Cauchy estimate gives . For , independence of the noise in the infinite moving-average representation gives
The autocovariance is symmetric in the lag. Thus exponential decay holds with
This is exponential autocovariance decay of a causal autoregression. If is constant, there are no roots and any works.