Properties of Lebesgue Integral

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving non-negative Lebesgue measurable functions and the properties of the Lebesgue integral, specifically addressing the relationship between two functions under certain conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the application of Fatou's lemma and question the validity of the original statement regarding the integrals of the functions. Some express confusion about the implications of the inequalities and the definitions of the Lebesgue integral being used.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing examination of the problem's validity, with some participants suggesting that the original statement may be incorrect. Others are attempting to clarify the conditions under which the inequalities hold and discussing the implications of different definitions of the Lebesgue integral.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that there may be a typo in the problem statement, as the relationship between the integrals appears to contradict established theorems in integration. The discussion includes references to specific examples that challenge the original assertion.

nateHI
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Homework Statement


Let ##f,g## be non-negative Lebesgue measurable functions, and let ##E## be a measurable set. Prove that:

##f\ge g\implies \int_E f d\lambda \le \int_E g d\lambda##

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I've been trying to apply Fatou's lemma but haven't been getting anywhere.
 
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nateHI said:

Homework Statement


Let ##f,g## be non-negative Lebesgue measurable functions, and let ##E## be a measurable set. Prove that:

##f\ge g\implies \int_E f d\lambda \le \int_E g d\lambda##

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I've been trying to apply Fatou's lemma but haven't been getting anywhere.
Here's a little more detail on my attempt
## \int (f-g)\le liminf_{n\to\infty}\int{(f_n-g_n)}##
##\implies \int{f}-\int{g}\le liminf_{n\to\infty}\int{f_n}-liminf_{n\to\infty}\int{g_n}##
##\implies -\int g -limsup_{n\to \infty}\int{-g_n} \le -\int f -limsup_{n\to \infty}\int{-f_n} ##
##\implies \int g +limsup_{n\to \infty}\int{g_n} \ge \int f +limsup_{n\to \infty}\int{f_n} ##
##\implies \int g \ge \int f##

My confusion arises when I compare this to monotonicity. I must be missing a step and it must be because I'm not using the fact that
##\int_E f=\int{f \mathcal{X}_E}##
 
nateHI said:

Homework Statement


Let ##f,g## be non-negative Lebesgue measurable functions, and let ##E## be a measurable set. Prove that:

##f\ge g\implies \int_E f d\lambda \le \int_E g d\lambda##

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


I've been trying to apply Fatou's lemma but haven't been getting anywhere.

You are getting nowhere because the result is false. Try the example ##f(x) = 2, g(x) = 1 \; \forall x## and ##E = [1,2]##.
 
I think one of those inequalities is supposed to point in the other direction. For example, if ##f\leq g##, then ##\int_E f\mathrm d\lambda\leq \int_E g\mathrm d\lambda##. There's more than one definition of the Lebesgue integral, so you will have to tell us which one you're using. Is ##\lambda## the Lebesgue measure on ##\mathbb R^n##, or just some arbitrary measure?

Regardless of what definition you're using, it will probably be slightly easier to break this up into two parts:
(a) If ##f\geq 0## then ##\int_E f\mathrm d\lambda\geq 0##.
(b) If ##f\leq g## then ##\int_E f\mathrm d\lambda\leq \int_E g\mathrm d\lambda##.

(a) is slightly easier to prove than (b) alone, and if you have proved (a), it's very easy to use it to prove (b).
 
Ray Vickson said:
You are getting nowhere because the result is false. Try the example ##f(x) = 2, g(x) = 1 \; \forall x## and ##E = [1,2]##.
Ack! That's not good, this was the professors practice problem for the upcoming test. Also, I double checked and the problem is stated here as he gave it to the class. Please disregard my request for assistance.
 
Last edited:
Then there's a typo in the problem. If you reverse the direction of one of the inequalities, you get one of the standard theorems that's proved in every book on integration.
 

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