Define X to be continuous random variable symmetric about zero with cdf FX and let σ>0 denote a constant. Now show the following:
E[FX(Xσ)]=0.5
How can one prove this claim? Since the cdf FX isn't necessarily linear, we can't place the expectation into the cdf, which would render the problem trivial. Additionally, I've concluded that the cdf is convex from −∞ to 0 and concave from 0 to ∞ as it is symmetric about zero. This means we can't use Jensen's inequality either. What am I missing?
Answer
Let f be the PDF of X, which should be symmetric about the origin; i.e. f(−x)=f(x). Then, the CDF is
F(x)=∫x−∞f(t)dt
The symmetry of f means that
F(−x)=∫−x−∞f(t)dt=∫∞xf(−t)dt=∫∞xf(t)dt=∫∞−∞f(t)dt−∫x−∞f(t)dt=1−F(x)
The expected value is
E(F(X/σ))=∫∞−∞f(x)F(x/σ)dx=∫∞−∞f(−x)F(−x/σ)dx=∫∞−∞f(x)(1−F(x/σ))dx=12∫∞−∞f(x)dx=12
Explanation:
(3): formula for expected value
(4): substitute x↦−x
(5): symmetry of f and (2)
(6): average (3) and (5)
(7): f is a PDF
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