On continuous convergence and epi-convergence of random functions. Part I: Theory and relations

summary:Continuous convergence and epi-convergence of sequences of random functions are crucial assumptions if mathematical programming problems are approximated on the basis of estimates or via sampling. The paper investigates “almost surely” and “in probability” versions of these convergence notions in more detail. Part I of the paper presents definitions and theoretical results and Part II is focused on sufficient conditions which apply to many models for statistical estimation and stochastic optimization