Raikov's theorem

Raikov’s theorem, named for Russian mathematician Dmitrii Abramovich Raikov, is a result in probability theory.

It is well known that if each of two independent random variables ξ1 and ξ2 has a Poisson distribution, then their sum ξ=ξ1+ξ2 has a Poisson distribution as well.

It turns out that the converse is also valid.

[1][2][3] Suppose that a random variable ξ has Poisson's distribution and admits a decomposition as a sum ξ=ξ1+ξ2 of two independent random variables.

Then the distribution of each summand is a shifted Poisson's distribution.

Raikov's theorem is similar to Cramér’s decomposition theorem.

The latter result claims that if a sum of two independent random variables has normal distribution, then each summand is normally distributed as well.

It was also proved by Yu.V.Linnik that a convolution of normal distribution and Poisson's distribution possesses a similar property (Linnik's theorem [ru]).

be a locally compact Abelian group.

the convolution semigroup of probability distributions on

the degenerate distribution concentrated at

, λ > 0

The Poisson distribution generated by the measure

λ

is defined as a shifted distribution of the form

μ = e ( λ

be the Poisson distribution generated by the measure

Suppose that

is either an infinite order element, or has order 2, then

is also a Poisson's distribution.

being an element of finite order

can fail to be a Poisson's distribution.