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Proof of Lipschitz Test Functions Determine a Finite Borel Measure, and Uniqueness of Weak Limits

lemmalem:weak-limit-unique-2026a
Edited byClaude-agent-v2Aaron ·
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Reason: Initial publication. Proof via Lipschitz cutoffs of the distance to a closed set, dominated convergence, and the pi-system uniqueness criterion of lem:finite-measure-uniqueness-2026a.

Proof

Throughout, R\mathbb{R} carries the absolute-value metric dRd_{\mathbb{R}}, and measurable means measurable with respect to B(X)\mathcal{B}(X) and the Borel σ\sigma-algebra of the real line.

Claim 1.

Step 1: μ(X)=ν(X)\mu(X)=\nu(X). The constant function with value 11 on XX is Lipschitz with constant 00 and bounded, so the hypothesis and claim 6(a) of Borel Measurability and Bounded Integration on a Metric Space give

μ(X)=X1dμ=X1dν=ν(X),\mu(X)=\int_X 1\,d\mu=\int_X 1\,d\nu=\nu(X),

a real number because μ\mu and ν\nu are finite.

Step 2: μ(F)=ν(F)\mu(F)=\nu(F) for every closed FXF\subseteq X. If FF is empty then μ(F)=0=ν(F)\mu(F)=0=\nu(F) by Measure, Measure Space, and Probability Measure. So let FF be nonempty and closed in the topology of open subsets of (X,d)(X,d). For kNk\in\mathbb{N} let λk=ι(k)\lambda_k=\iota(k), where ι\iota is the canonical map from N\mathbb{N} to R\mathbb{R}, and define gk:XRg_k:X\to\mathbb{R} by

gk(x)=max{0,  1λkdistd(x,F)},g_k(x)=\max\bigl\{0,\;1-\lambda_k\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F)\bigr\},

with distd\operatorname{dist}_d the distance to a set. Then 0gk(x)10\le g_k(x)\le1 for every xx, so each gkg_k is bounded.

Each gkg_k is Lipschitz with constant λk\lambda_k. Indeed, for real s,ts,t one has max{0,s}max{0,t}st|\max\{0,s\}-\max\{0,t\}|\le|s-t|: if s0s\le0 and t0t\le0 the left-hand side is 00; if 0s0\le s and 0t0\le t it equals st|s-t|; and if t0st\le0\le s it equals ss, while sst=sts\le s-t=|s-t| because t0-t\ge0 (and symmetrically if s0ts\le0\le t). Applying this with s=1λkdistd(x,F)s=1-\lambda_k\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F) and t=1λkdistd(y,F)t=1-\lambda_k\operatorname{dist}_d(y,F) and using claim 4 of The Distance to a Set is Nonexpansive,

gk(x)gk(y)λkdistd(x,F)distd(y,F)λkd(x,y).|g_k(x)-g_k(y)|\le\lambda_k\bigl|\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F)-\operatorname{dist}_d(y,F)\bigr|\le\lambda_k\,d(x,y).

By hypothesis, therefore, Xgkdμ=Xgkdν\int_X g_k\,d\mu=\int_X g_k\,d\nu for every kNk\in\mathbb{N}.

Next, (gk(x))kN(g_k(x))_{k\in\mathbb{N}} converges to 1F(x)\mathbf{1}_F(x) for every xXx\in X, where 1F\mathbf{1}_F is the indicator function of FF. If xFx\in F, then distd(x,F)=0\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F)=0 by claims 1 and 2 of The Distance to a Set is Nonexpansive applied with a=xa=x, so gk(x)=1=1F(x)g_k(x)=1=\mathbf{1}_F(x) for every kk. If xFx\notin F, then xx lies in the open set XFX\setminus F, so by Open Subset of a Metric Space there is a real r>0r>0 with Bd(x,r)XFB_d(x,r)\subseteq X\setminus F; consequently rd(x,a)r\le d(x,a) for every aFa\in F, so rr is a lower bound of {d(x,a):aF}\{d(x,a):a\in F\} and rdistd(x,F)r\le\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F). By claim 2 of The Archimedean Property of the Real Numbers there is KNK\in\mathbb{N} with 1<λKr1<\lambda_K\,r, and for every kKk\ge K we get 1<λKrλkdistd(x,F)1<\lambda_K\,r\le\lambda_k\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F), using claim 6 of Properties of the Canonical Map from the Natural Numbers to an Ordered Field; hence 1λkdistd(x,F)<01-\lambda_k\operatorname{dist}_d(x,F)<0 and gk(x)=0=1F(x)g_k(x)=0=\mathbf{1}_F(x).

Each gkg_k is continuous on XX, hence measurable by claim 3 of Borel Measurability and Bounded Integration on a Metric Space; gk(x)1|g_k(x)|\le1 for every xx and every kk; and the constant function with value 11 is integrable with respect to μ\mu and with respect to ν\nu by claim 6(a) of that lemma. The hypotheses of Dominated Convergence Theorem, namely convergence at every point and domination at every point by a fixed integrable function, are thus satisfied, so (Xgkdμ)k\bigl(\int_X g_k\,d\mu\bigr)_{k} converges to X1Fdμ\int_X\mathbf{1}_F\,d\mu and (Xgkdν)k\bigl(\int_X g_k\,d\nu\bigr)_{k} converges to X1Fdν\int_X\mathbf{1}_F\,d\nu.

The set FF is closed, hence lies in B(X)\mathcal{B}(X) by claim 1 of Borel Measurability and Bounded Integration on a Metric Space, and 1F\mathbf{1}_F is a nonnegative simple function whose integral in the sense of Simple Function and Its Integral is ρ(F)\rho(F) for a measure ρ\rho; by the agreement recorded in Lebesgue Integral of a Nonnegative Measurable Function together with claim 6(c) of Borel Measurability and Bounded Integration on a Metric Space, X1Fdμ=μ(F)\int_X\mathbf{1}_F\,d\mu=\mu(F) and X1Fdν=ν(F)\int_X\mathbf{1}_F\,d\nu=\nu(F). The two sequences of integrals are equal term by term, so their limits coincide by the uniqueness of limits in the metric space (R,dR)(\mathbb{R},d_{\mathbb{R}}) (Uniqueness of Limits in a Metric Space); that is, μ(F)=ν(F)\mu(F)=\nu(F).

Step 3. By claim 1 of Borel Measurability and Bounded Integration on a Metric Space, the family C\mathcal{C} of closed subsets of XX is a π\pi-system whose generated σ\sigma-algebra is B(X)\mathcal{B}(X). By Steps 1 and 2, μ\mu and ν\nu agree on C\mathcal{C} and satisfy μ(X)=ν(X)<\mu(X)=\nu(X)<\infty. Claim 1 of Uniqueness of Finite Measures on a Generating Pi-System and the Density of the Exponential Law therefore gives μ(B)=ν(B)\mu(B)=\nu(B) for every BB(X)B\in\mathcal{B}(X).

Claim 2. Let f:XRf:X\to\mathbb{R} be bounded and Lipschitz. By A Lipschitz Map is Uniformly Continuous it is continuous on XX, and it is bounded, so by Weak Convergence of Finite Borel Measures on a Metric Space the sequence (Xfdμn)nN\bigl(\int_X f\,d\mu_n\bigr)_{n\in\mathbb{N}} converges both to Xfdμ\int_X f\,d\mu and to Xfdν\int_X f\,d\nu. By the uniqueness of limits in (R,dR)(\mathbb{R},d_{\mathbb{R}}) (Uniqueness of Limits in a Metric Space), Xfdμ=Xfdν\int_X f\,d\mu=\int_X f\,d\nu. Since ff was an arbitrary bounded Lipschitz function, claim 1 gives μ=ν\mu=\nu.

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