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Mathematics · 术语表

什么是 Discrete random variable; law?

又称: random variable · law of a random variable · distribution

Definition 22.1 University Mathematics — Year 2 · 第 22 章 — Discrete Random Variables

Let (Ω,P)(\Omega, \P) be a countable probability space. A random variable is a map X ⁣:Ω→EX \colon \Omega \to E (EE any set; real random variable when E=RE = \R). Its law (or distribution) is the probability measure PX\P_X on the countable set X(Ω)X(\Omega) defined by

PX({x})=P(X=x)=P({ω:X(ω)=x}).\P_X(\{x\}) = \P(X = x) = \P\bigl(\{\omega : X(\omega) = x\}\bigr) .

示例

Example 22.2 (The classical laws)

  • Bernoulli B(p)\mathcal{B}(p): X∈{0,1}X \in \{0, 1\}, P(X=1)=p\P(X = 1) = p. Indicator of an event.
  • Binomial B(n,p)\mathcal{B}(n, p): P(X=k)=(nk)pk(1−p)n−k\P(X = k) = \binom nk p^k(1-p)^{n-k}, 0≤k≤n0 \leq k \leq n: number of successes in nn independent Bernoulli trials (High School volume; re-proved below via sums of independent variables).
  • Geometric G(p)\mathcal{G}(p): P(X=k)=(1−p)k−1p\P(X = k) = (1-p)^{k-1}p, k∈N∗k \in \N^*: rank of the first success (Example 21.5).
  • Poisson P(λ)\mathcal{P}(\lambda): P(X=k)=e−λλkk!\P(X = k) = e^{-\lambda}\frac{\lambda^k}{k!}, k∈Nk \in \N — a probability measure by the exponential series. The law of rare events (Chapter 23).

Example 22.10 (Transfer in action)

For X∼P(λ)X \sim \mathcal P(\lambda), compute E(11+X)\E\bigl(\frac1{1+X}\bigr) — the law of 11+X\frac1{1+X} itself is awkward, but transfer never asks for it:

E(11+X)=∑k≥01k+1 e−λλkk!=e−λλ∑k≥0λk+1(k+1)!=e−λλ(eλ−1)=1−e−λλ.\E\Bigl(\frac1{1+X}\Bigr) = \sum_{k\geq0}\frac{1}{k+1}\,\eu^{-\lambda} \frac{\lambda^k}{k!} = \frac{\eu^{-\lambda}}{\lambda}\sum_{k\geq0} \frac{\lambda^{k+1}}{(k+1)!} = \frac{\eu^{-\lambda}}{\lambda}\bigl(\eu^\lambda - 1\bigr) = \frac{1 - \eu^{-\lambda}}{\lambda} .

Two lessons. Computationally: recognizing a shifted exponential series is the whole work — transfer reduces expectations of f(X)f(X) to series manipulation. Structurally: the naive plug-in value would be 11+EX=11+λ\frac1{1 + \E X} = \frac1{1 + \lambda}, and the true answer is larger,

1−e−λλ≥11+λ,\frac{1 - \eu^{-\lambda}}{\lambda} \geq \frac{1}{1 + \lambda},

exactly as Jensen’s inequality for the convex function t↦11+tt \mapsto \frac1{1+t} demands. Expectations of convex images sit above the naive plug-in value, and transfer plus a series check makes the abstract inequality concrete.

Example 22.12 (Products, with and without independence)

Roll two fair dice. If YY is the second die (independent of the first), E(XY)=E(X)E(Y)=3.52=12.25\E(XY) = \E(X)\E(Y) = 3.5^2 = 12.25. If instead Y=XY = X (the “product” of a die with itself),

E(X2)=1+4+9+16+25+366=916≈15.17≠12.25:\E(X^2) = \frac{1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25 + 36}{6} = \frac{91}{6} \approx 15.17 \neq 12.25 :

same marginal laws in both scenarios, different joint laws, different product expectations. The moral, worth engraving: E(XY)\E(XY) is a functional of the pair, not of the two marginals — and the gap E(X2)−E(X)2≈2.92\E(X^2) - \E(X)^2 \approx 2.92 is, by König–Huygens, precisely the variance 3512\frac{35}{12} of the die.

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