On generating functions of Hausdorff moment sequences
Abstract
The class of generating functions for completely monotone sequences (moments of finite positive measures on ) has an elegant characterization as the class of Pick functions analytic and positive on . We establish this and another such characterization and develop a variety of consequences. In particular, we characterize generating functions for moments of convex and concave probability distribution functions on . Also we provide a simple analytic proof that for any real and with , the Fuss-Catalan or Raney numbers , are the moments of a probability distribution on some interval {if and only if} and . The same statement holds for the binomial coefficients , . A corrigendum (Trans. Amer. Math.Soc., to appear) has been included as an appendix, correcting gaps in the proof of Lemma 3.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1401.8052,
title = {On generating functions of Hausdorff moment sequences},
author = {Jian-Guo Liu and Robert L. Pego},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1401.8052},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
25 pages, LaTeX; Corrigendum added, to appear in Transactions Amer. Math. Soc