The Lindeberg condition for a triangular array X n k of random variables on (Ω, μ):
for every ε > 0, the truncated second moment
∑ₖ ∫ (X n k)² · 𝟙{|X n k| > ε} dμ tends to 0 as n → ∞. This is the key hypothesis of the
Lindeberg–Feller central limit theorem.
Instances For
For a mean-zero random variable X with finite second moment, the deviation of its
characteristic function from 1 is controlled by the variance:
‖φ_X(t) - 1‖ ≤ t² · 𝔼[X²].
Under the Lindeberg hypothesis, the product of characteristic functions of the rows of a
mean-zero triangular array converges to the characteristic function of a N(0, σ²) Gaussian,
exp(-σ² t²/2). This is the analytic core of the Lindeberg–Feller theorem.
Lindeberg–Feller central limit theorem (triangular array form).
Suppose X n k, for 1 ≤ k ≤ n, is a triangular array of independent, mean-zero random variables
on (Ω, μ). If
- the row variances
∑ₖ 𝔼[X n k²]converge toσ² > 0, and - the Lindeberg condition
LindebergConditionTriangular X μholds,
then the row sums Sₙ = ∑ₖ X n k converge in distribution to N(0, σ²): for every bounded
continuous f : ℝ →ᵇ ℝ, 𝔼[f(Sₙ)] → 𝔼[f(σ · χ)] where χ is a standard normal.