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For a simple symmetric random walk starting at zero, let $T_1$ be its first hitting time of $1$. The infinite mean first passage of a simple symmetric random walk shows that $T_1<\infty$ almost surely but $\mathbb{E}[T_1]=\infty$. Since $S_{T_1}=1$, assuming a finite expected value for $T_1$ would let Wald's equation assert $1=0\mathbb{E}[T_1]=0$, a contradiction. The formal expression $0\cdot \infty$ is not an allowed use of the theorem.^[ref]

Compare $T_{\pm 2}=\inf \{n\ge 0:|S_n|=2\}$. From every surviving position in $\{-1,0,1\}$, three consecutive positive increments force absorption within three steps. Each fresh block has probability $1/8$ of this event, so $\mathbb{P}(T_{\pm 2}>3k)\le (7/8{)}^k$ and $\mathbb{E}[T_{\pm 2}]\le 24$. This establishes finiteness before invoking the theorem. If $e_j$ is the average remaining time from position $j$, the law of total expectation givesso $\mathbb{E}[T_{\pm 2}]=4$. Symmetry gives equal exit probabilities at $-2$ and $2$, and $\mathbb{E}[S_{T_{\pm 2}}]=0$, as Wald's equation predicts. This is a small gambler's ruin problem with two absorbing barriers.

Even for $T_1$, each bounded stopping time $T_1\wedge n$ satisfies $\mathbb{E}[S_{T_1\wedge n}]=0$. The stopped process tends to $1$ almost surely, but its expected value does not tend to $1$. Rare long negative excursions retain the balancing contribution. The existing stopped-walk martingale with almost sure but not L1 convergence explains the related failure of uniform integrability; almost sure convergence alone does not permit exchanging a limit and an expected value.

The optional stopping theorem applies to $M$ at the bounded stopping time $n\wedge T_k$. As $M_0=0$, it yields the valid stopped second-moment identity for a simple symmetric random walkThe printed bound on $\mathbb{E}{T}_k$ is false. Before hitting the positive level $k$, the walk can travel arbitrarily far downwards, so $|S_{n\wedge T_k}|\le k$ is unavailable.

Here is a valid proof of finiteness of $T_k$. For a positive integer $L$, stop instead at $\tau =\inf \{n:S_n\in \{-L,k\}\}$. The same identity and the bound $|S_{n\wedge \tau }|\le \max (L,k)$ giveThe monotone convergence theorem makes $\mathbb{E}\tau <\infty$, so $\tau <\infty$ almost surely. Applying optional stopping to $S$ at $n\wedge \tau$ and then using dominated convergence gives $\mathbb{E}{S}_{\tau }=0$. Since $S_{\tau }\in \{-L,k\}$, this meansConsequently $\mathbb{P}(T_k<\infty )\ge L/(L+k)$ for every $L$, and letting $L\to \infty$ proves $T_k<\infty$ almost surely.

In fact this is the infinite mean first passage of a simple symmetric random walk. If $\mathbb{E}{T}_k<\infty$, the first displayed identity would bound the second moments of $S_{n\wedge T_k}$ uniformly. Their uniform integrability and their almost sure convergence to $k$ would imply $\mathbb{E}{S}_{n\wedge T_k}\to k$. But the optional stopping theorem applied to $S$ at every bounded $n\wedge T_k$ makes each expectation zero, a contradiction. Hence the correct conclusion is

Use the natural filtration ${\mathcal{F}}_n=\sigma (X_1,\dots ,X_n)$ of the simple symmetric random walk. The event $\{T_1\le n\}={\bigcup }_{k=0}^n\{S_k=1\}$ belongs to ${\mathcal{F}}_n$, so $T_1$ is a stopping time.

For a positive integer $m$, set ${\tau }_m=T_1\wedge T_{-m}$. This exit time from the finite interval is integrable: in each block of $m+1$ steps there is a probability at least $2^{-(m+1)}$ of all steps being positive, which forces exit if it has not already occurred. Consequently the survival probabilities have a geometric upper bound.

We use the bounded-time optional stopping theorem: if $M$ is a martingale and $\sigma$ a bounded stopping time, then $\mathbb{E}{M}_{\sigma }=\mathbb{E}{M}_0$. Apply it at ${\tau }_m\wedge n$ to $S_n$ and to the square-minus-time martingale of a simple symmetric random walk $S_n^2-n$. The stopped positions lie in $[-m,1]$, so dominated convergence and monotone convergence giveWriting $p_m=\mathbb{P}(T_1<T_{-m})$, the first equation becomes $p_m-m(1-p_m)=0$, hence $p_m=m/(m+1)$. The second gives $\mathbb{E}{\tau }_m=p_m+m^2(1-p_m)=m$. Since ${\tau }_m\le T_1$, its expectation satisfies $\mathbb{E}{T}_1\ge m$ for every $m$. ThereforeNevertheless $\mathbb{P}(T_1<\infty )\ge p_m\to 1$. Thus the infinite mean first passage of a simple symmetric random walk occurs despite almost sure finiteness; using unrestricted optional stopping directly at $T_1$ would be unjustified.

For a simple symmetric random walk, the infinite mean first passage of a simple symmetric random walk gives a finite almost sure first passage $T_1$ to $1$. The stopped martingale $M_n=1-S_{n\wedge T_1}$ is nonnegative and eventually zero almost surely. Nevertheless $\mathbb{E}{M}_n=1$ for every $n$, so it has almost sure convergence but no convergence in L1. It is therefore not uniformly integrable. Before absorption the nearest-neighbour walk is at most zero, ensuring nonnegativity.