Let be a Poisson random measure of intensity , let , and let be measurable. Apply the Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure to and differentiate from the right at . On the random side, differentiation is dominated by the integrable random variable ; on the intensity side, by . This proves the displayed identity when is finite. When this integral is infinite, almost surely, and the same identity holds with both sides zero.
A simple locally finite point measure on with void probability on finite unions of bounded intervals is a Poisson random measure with Lebesgue measure intensity. Void-event intersections factor, hence the occupation indicators on disjoint cells are independent. The dyadic occupancy approximation of a simple point measure is binomial with rare-event probability and converges to a Poisson count of mean the interval length. Independence survives joint convergence for disjoint intervals. Extension of the mean measure and the Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure to Borel functions identifies all Borel counts, not just intervals.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 29 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For , the one-parameter Poisson-Dirichlet distribution is a probability distribution on decreasing random mass sequences. A precise construction uses a Poisson random measure on with intensityArrange its points as and put . The intensity is diffuse, so there are almost surely no ties. There are infinitely many points because the intensity has infinite mass near zero, but their sum is finite almost surely: the Campbell first-moment formula gives . Also almost surely, since the probability of having no points is zero. DefineIts law is , also written . In particular, is the largest component; the ordering is part of the definition.
The Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure determines the total:For the integral identity, differentiate the integral with respect to , obtaining , and use its value zero at . Thus has the Gamma distribution with shape and rate one, and density .
We use the Mecke formula for a Poisson random measure in its point-removal formHere the process inside the expectation on the right has the original law. To justify this identity, first take finite intensity. Conditional on a Poisson count , its points are independent samples from normalized intensity. Expanding the expectation as a sum over and singling out one of the points replaces by ; the remaining points have the original Poisson law. For sigma-finite intensity, restrict the selected point to a finite-intensity set, condition on the independent outside process, and then exhaust the space. monotone convergence theorem proves the formula for nonnegative ; absolute integrability allows signed .
Apply it with . For the polynomial in question, on , so and all signed interchanges are justified. Integrating over the gamma law of the remaining total givesSet and , so , and the Jacobian is . The integrand factors as . The integral defining the Gamma function cancels , yieldingFor example, setting gives for integers .
The same nonnegative calculation identifies the mean measure of Poisson-Dirichlet components for arbitrary nonnegative test functions. Write . If , at most one component exceeds , so . Hence the identity directly gives the upper part of the probability distribution of the largest component of a Poisson-Dirichlet partition:Its density on is . For , this tail is , and . On the other hand, selecting index with conditional probabilities weights the mean measure of a point process by . Thus has density , the law of a size-biased distribution. That beta law describes the selected component.
For completeness, the whole probability distribution of can also be specified; below one half the expected count is not itself the tail probability. Repeating the point-removal formula for ordered distinct jumps gives the factorial moment densities of Poisson-Dirichlet components:Indeed, integrate over selected jumps and the remaining gamma total , then put , . The Jacobian is ; the factors and the Jacobian leave , whose Gamma function again cancels the normalizing constant. Since , the finite binomial identity for the indicator of now gives, for ,The term is one; an empty integration region contributes zero. This is inclusion-exclusion, since . Extend this cumulative distribution function by zero for and one for . For only the terms can contribute, recovering the simpler formula above.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 32 6 b ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
First derive the Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure. For a simple nonnegative on disjoint finite-intensity sets, independent Poisson random variables giveIncreasing simple approximations, monotone convergence for the integrals, and bounded convergence theorem for the random exponentials prove the same identity for every nonnegative measurable .
Here the intensity is Lebesgue measure. Put andThe integral is finite because has compact support. Apply the Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure to , :Differentiate from the right at . The difference quotient on the random side is dominated by , which is integrable with mean ; the intensity integral is over a finite-volume ball. We obtain the count-weighted Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure:At , the ball is empty and both sides are zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 33 6 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For finitely many disjoint bounded intervals , all dyadic cells used in their level- sums are disjoint. The independent occupied indicators proved in part (a) form independent groups, so are independent. Their almost-sure limits are also independent: for , bounded convergence givesThis joint probability generating function determines the joint law as that of independent Poisson counts. If an interval is unbounded, truncate all intervals by and let in the joint Laplace transforms. An unbounded interval has infinite count almost surely, since its Poisson means tend to infinity; this extends the independence assertion to such intervals as well.
For an interval-step function with and disjoint bounded intervals, independent Poisson distributions yieldWe now extend this to arbitrary nonnegative Borel functions, rather than stopping at interval-step functions. The mean measure is countably additive by Tonelli theorem, is finite on bounded intervals, and agrees with on intervals by the preceding Poisson count calculation. Uniqueness of finite measures on each bounded Borel space, then exhaustion by bounded spaces, gives on every Borel set. Simple-function approximation therefore givesFor bounded supported in a bounded interval, choose nonnegative interval-step functions with . Their existence follows by approximating measurable level sets in finite Lebesgue measure by finite unions of intervals, then approximating by simple functions. The mean-measure identity impliesThe function is one-Lipschitz on , so the expectations of the exponentials converge. The deterministic integrals of converge by the same Lipschitz bound. Hence the Laplace formula holds for this bounded Borel .
For general , put . These functions increase to , giving and . Bounded convergence for the exponentials and monotone convergence for the integrals prove the Laplace functional of a Poisson random measure:with .
Finally take for disjoint Borel sets of finite Lebesgue measure. The formula gives the product joint Laplace transform of independent Poisson counts with means . Uniqueness of that transform proves the required count laws on all Borel sets. For infinite-measure sets the formula gives for , so their counts are infinite almost surely. Together with the given local finiteness, these facts show that is a Poisson random measure with intensity . This completes the exponential void probabilities characterize a Poisson random measure argument; simplicity was used to recover counts from fine-cell occupancy.