Two probability theorems and their application to some first passage problems

Let Xi, i = 1, 2, 3,··· be a sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables and write Sn = X1+X2+…+Xn. If the mean of Xi is finite and positive, we have Pr(Sn ≦ x) → 0 as n → ∞ for all x1 – ∞ < x < ∞ using the weak law of large numbers. It is our purpose in this paper to study the rate of convergence of Pr(Sn ≦ x) to zero. Necessary and sufficient conditions are established for the convergence of the two series where k is a non-negative integer, and where r > 0. These conditions are applied to some first passage problems for sums of random variables. The former is also used in correcting a queueing Theorem of Finch [4].