Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 201 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The almost sure submartingale convergence theorem says that if a submartingale satisfiesthen there is an integrable random variable such thatIndeed the positive-part bound also bounds the negative parts, since ; the theorem gives a finite limit. In particular, the Martingale convergence theorem applies to any martingale with .
For a nonnegative martingale, supplies this bound automatically. Its limit obeys by the Fatou lemma. Almost sure convergence alone need not preserve the expectation or give convergence in L1. Uniform integrability is the additional condition that supplies convergence in L1 and the identity .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 107 6 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For the divergence-form elliptic operator use the weak subsolution convention for nonnegative test functions. Set and test with , where . The Sobolev chain rule makes this test admissible; boundedness and the positive regularization control the derivative of its power. Ellipticity and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality give, with and ,Division when , and the trivial case , establish the power Caccioppoli inequality. Letting givesFor this limit uses the Fatou lemma; the gradient of a Sobolev function vanishes on a level set, so the weighted integrand is assigned zero on . The same regularization justifies differentiating in .
The PDF bounds individual entries by . Then : dimensional factors are included in the ellipticity constants when the first estimate is written as . With literal entrywise bounds, the explicit valid constant displayed here is . If bounds the operator norm instead, it is . This distinction does not alter any later conclusion, whose constants explicitly depend on .
For , put . Apply the Sobolev inequality to and useFor , , so the resulting constant is uniform in . Taking a cutoff equal to one on , supported in , with , yieldsAt a compactly supported cutoff can still be chosen with this bound by leaving an outer margin; alternatively pass to the limit from smaller radii.
For Moser iteration, set and . Repeated use of the preceding estimate bounds the successive norms byThis product is finite becauseAs the exponents tend to infinity, their norms on the Euclidean ball of radius tend to its essential supremum. ThereforeThe power is independent of the exponents of Hölder continuity in earlier questions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 201 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Martingale convergence theorem in its -bounded form says that a martingale with has an integrable limit andThe norm bound on the limit follows from Fatou lemma. Boundedness in by itself does not imply convergence in L1. The uniformly integrable martingale convergence theorem gives the stronger conclusion: if is uniformly integrable, then both almost surely and in L1 norm, and . Conversely, convergence in L1 implies uniform integrability.
For the distinction, the fair-coin doubling martingale has expectation one for every but converges almost surely to zero. Its L1 norm remains one, so its convergence is not in L1 norm. These two formulations specify exactly which hypothesis is needed in part (d).
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 202 1 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Put and . The candidate is continuous, adapted, nondecreasing, starts at zero and has integrable terminal value. We prove is a martingale, rather than assuming the desired quadratic variation of a stochastic integral.
The assumed boundedness of also makes a true martingale on every finite horizon. Indeed, apply its local martingale identity at a localizing sequence; bounded stopped squares and the Fatou lemma show that is integrable. The stopped expressions are then dominated by , so the dominated convergence theorem gives the unrestricted conditional identity on that horizon.
First let be a bounded simple predictable process. On each interval with coefficient , an increment of is . The defining quadratic variation identity for , together with the martingale property of , makesa martingale for . Expanding gives a term and the square term above; their conditional expectations yield the desired identity on that interval. Integrability follows because the variables are square-integrable; concatenating the finitely many intervals gives a martingale.
For general bounded predictable , choose bounded simple predictable processes in , which is possible since they generate the predictable sigma-algebra. Set and . The Itô isometry and Doob L2 maximal inequality imply in ; the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives in andPass the conditional expectation identity for to the limit. Thus is a martingale. Uniqueness in the defining quadratic variation property now gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 22F c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 201 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Martingale convergence theorem says that if a discrete-time martingale satisfies , then there is an integrable random variable such thatThe hypothesis does not by itself ensure convergence in L1.
For each pair of rational numbers , the Doob upcrossing inequality gives . The monotone convergence theorem therefore gives a finite expected value for , so this upcrossing count is finite almost surely. There are only countably many such pairs, hence all their upcrossing counts are simultaneously finite outside one event of probability zero.
If , the density of the rational numbers supplies strictly between them, forcing infinitely many upcrossings. Consequently has a limit in the extended real numbers almost surely. By the Fatou lemma,A limit of either or would make this lower limit infinite, so the limit is finite almost surely, and the same inequality proves its integrability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 202 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the standard definition of a local martingale, including an integrable initial value, and let be a localizing sequence. If , the Fatou lemma gives . For , the Conditional Fatou lemma givesFor clarity, the Conditional Fatou lemma itself follows by setting for nonnegative , applying the conditional version of the monotone convergence theorem to , and observing . Hence a nonnegative local martingale is a supermartingale.
If simultaneously for all , with a deterministic , the dominated convergence theorem applied to the stopped martingale identity gives, for each ,This is exactly the conditional expectation identity, so a bounded local martingale is a true martingale. The same proof works for deterministic bounds on every finite time interval; merely having a finite random pathwise bound supplies no dominating integrable random variable and is a different convention.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 211 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Under the standard local martingale definition, is integrable. For a nonnegative , the Fatou lemma and a localizing sequence giveHence every is integrable, and part (a) applies. Therefore a nonnegative discrete-time local martingale is a true martingale. This is stronger than the continuous-time supermartingale conclusion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 26J c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The bounded second moments make uniformly integrable, and is integrable. Convergence in probability together with uniform integrability therefore givesConvergence in need not follow. On with Lebesgue measure, letThen in probability and , but for every . This is the bounded second moments do not upgrade convergence in probability to convergence in L2 example.
At time zero, . Compactness of givesAlso is uniformly bounded above on . Onone has . Optional stopping, Fatou lemma, and the assumed conditional angular estimate giveThusThe exponent requested in the question does not follow and is false as written. The SLE Green-function estimate gives probability comparable to , confirming that the denominator in the requested exponent should be .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 211 1 c Solution 2026-10-03
We prove the contrapositive. LetThe function is constant along , so minimize it on . Suppose there is no with almost surely and strict inequality with positive probability. If a sequence satisfies , pass to a subsequence withBecause and there is no arbitrage direction, . On that event, , and Fatou lemma gives . Hence every finite sublevel set of in is bounded. It is also closed, so attains its infimum there and has a bounded minimizing sequence. This contradicts the assumption. Therefore there is a unit vector satisfying
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 201 2 b Solution 2026-09-28
For every rational , part a implies almost surely. The intersection of these probability-one events over the countable collection of rational pairs still has probability one. On this event, ifsome rational interval lies strictly between them, forcing infinitely many upcrossings, a contradiction. Thus has an extended limit almost surely.
The limit cannot be on a set of positive probability: Fatou lemma and the supermartingale property giveNonnegativity excludes . Therefore converges almost surely to a finite random variable, proving the almost sure supermartingale convergence theorem in this case.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 27H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For the proof, defineThen is a nonnegative increasing sequence andThe monotone convergence theorem therefore givesFor each , we have , so monotonicity of the Lebesgue integral yieldsTaking the limit in proves the asserted inequality and the proof of Fatou lemma.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 27H c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Yes. Almost-sure convergence givesalmost surely. Since the random variables are nonnegative, Fatou lemma applies and givesThe inequalities remain valid in the extended nonnegative reals, so no integrability assumption beyond nonnegativity is required.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 107 4 c Solution 2026-09-28
First replace by and later let . In the supersolution inequality use the nonnegative test functionwhere is compactly supported. Ellipticity and Young inequality give the Logarithmic Caccioppoli inequalityChoose on , supported in , with . Letting and using Fatou lemma gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 201 1 c Solution 2026-09-28
Set . Since , the tower property of conditional expectation givesso is a nonnegative supermartingale. The almost sure supermartingale convergence theorem gives almost surely, and Fatou lemma yields . Hence almost surely; because , convergence also holds in .
Finally,The second term tends to zero almost surely and in by part b. The first does so by the preceding argument, proving the moving-variable conditional-expectation convergence.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 201 2 b Solution 2026-09-28
Let . By the Markov property,The events decrease to the event that the walk visits zero infinitely often, which has probability zero by the stated transience assumption. HencePart a and the almost sure supermartingale convergence theorem give an almost-sure limit . By Fatou lemma, , so almost surely.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 26K a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be a measure-preserving transformation of and let . The Birkhoff ergodic theorem states thatalmost everywhere, where is the invariant sigma-algebra. The limit is -invariant and
Assume now that . For , letbe the bounded truncation of , and let be its Birkhoff limit. Since on a finite measure space, the dominated convergence theorem givesMeasure preservation and the triangle inequality give the contractionMoreover, the almost-everywhere convergence and Fatou lemma implyConsequentlySince in , letting proves the L1 convergence in the Birkhoff ergodic theorem on a finite measure space:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 107 4 b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 201 3 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Assume . For every pair of rationals , Doob upcrossing inequality givesby monotone convergence theorem. Thus every rational interval is upcrossed only finitely often almost surely. If a real sequence has distinct limit inferior and limit superior, it completes infinitely many upcrossings of some rational interval between them. Hence converges in the extended real line almost surely.
Fatou lemma givesso the limit is finite almost surely and integrable. This is the -bounded form of the Martingale convergence theorem.