MHB Finding Joint Density for Minimum of Independent Variables: $\min(A,B)$ Formula

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To find the density for the minimum of two independent random variables, \( C = \min(A, B) \), the correct formula is derived from the properties of independent distributions. The density function \( f_C(c) \) can be expressed as \( f_C(c) = f_A(c)(1 - F_B(c)) + f_B(c)(1 - F_A(c)) \), where \( f_A \) and \( f_B \) are the densities of \( A \) and \( B \), respectively, and \( F_A \) and \( F_B \) are their cumulative distribution functions. This approach accounts for the two cases of \( A < B \) and \( A \geq B \). The final result simplifies to \( f_C(c) = (\lambda + \mu)e^{-(\lambda + \mu)c} \), confirming the correctness of the derived formula. Understanding this derivation is crucial for accurately calculating the joint density of the minimum of independent variables.
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I have:

$f_A=\lambda e^{-\lambda a}$

$f_B=\mu e^{-\mu b}$

I need to find the density for $C=\min(A,B)$

($A$ and $B$ are independent).

Is this correct or utterly wrong?

$f_C(c)=f_A(c)+f_B(c)-f_A(c)F_B(c)-F_A(c)f_B(c)$

$=\lambda e^{-\lambda c}+\mu e^{-\mu c}-\lambda e^{-\lambda c}(1-e^{-\mu c})-(1-e^{-\lambda c})\mu e^{-\mu c}$

$=\lambda e^{-\lambda c}e^{-\mu c}+\mu e^{-\lambda c}e^{-\mu c}$

$=2(\lambda+\mu)e^{-c(\lambda+\mu)}$
 
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Jason said:
I have:

$f_A=\lambda e^{-\lambda a}$

$f_B=\mu e^{-\mu b}$

I need to find the density for $C=\min(A,B)$

($A$ and $B$ are independent).

Is this correct or utterly wrong?

$f_C(c)=f_A(c)+f_B(c)-f_A(c)F_B(c)-F_A(c)f_B(c)$

You need to explain where this comes from.

Because we have two cases; \( A<B\) and \(A\ge B\) I would start:

$ \large f_C(c)=f_A(c)Pr(B>c|A=c)+Pr(A>c|B=c)) $

then independence reduces this to:

$ \large f_C(c)=f_A(c)Pr(B>c)+f_B(c)Pr(A>C) $

so:

\( \large f_C(c)=f_A(c)(1-F_B(c))+f_B(c)(1-F_A(c) \))

CB
 
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