Past exam of the real and harmonic analysis course of the University of Oxford / 2008 / 4 / a

The centered Hardy-Littlewood maximal function isThe Hardy-Littlewood maximal inequality gives, for example,This valid constant follows from the disjoint-interval covering argument: a compact subset of the superlevel set has a finite cover by intervals of average above $t$; select disjoint intervals whose triples cover it, bound their total length by $\Vert f{\Vert }_1/t$, and use inner regularity. An optimal constant is not required.

Let $Df(x)$ denote the upper limit of the displayed mean oscillation as $r\downarrow 0$. For a continuous integrable approximation $g$, continuity gives $Dg(x)=0$. With $h=f-g$, the triangle inequality yieldsTherefore the maximal inequality and Chebyshev's inequality giveDensity makes the right side arbitrarily small. For each positive rational $\epsilon$ the exceptional set is null, proving $Df=0$ almost everywhere, the Lebesgue differentiation theorem. Values where the chosen representative is not finite already form a null set.

For the fundamental theorem define $F(x)={\int }_a^{x}f(t)dt$, with oriented integration for $x<a$. This function is absolutely continuous: for disjoint intervals the sum of $|F(b_j)-F(a_j)|$ is at most the integral of $|f|$ over their union, which is small when its measure is small by absolute continuity of the integral. At a Lebesgue point of $f$, for $h\ne 0$,Thus $F^{\prime }=f$ almost everywhere and $F(b)-F(a)={\int }_a^{b}f$. Differentiability at every point is not claimed for an arbitrary integrable function.

For a set $M$ of finite measure apply the preceding result to $f=1_M$. Since its local average minus its point value is bounded in absolute value by its mean absolute oscillation, it givesFor a general measurable $M$, apply the same argument to $1_{M\cap [-j,j]}\in L^1(\mathbb{R})$. At every interior point of $(-j,j)$, sufficiently short averages agree with those of $1_M$. The countable union of these interiors covers the line, and a countable union of null exceptional sets remains null. This proves the Lebesgue density theorem without a finite-measure assumption on $M$. The source's $\chi$ is the indicator of $M$.