A Minicourse On Stochastic Partial Differential Equations

This title contains lectures that offer an introduction to modern topics in stochastic partial differential equations and bring together experts whose research is centered on the interface between Gaussian analysis, stochastic analysis, and stochastic PDEs.

These lectures concentrate on (nonlinear) stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) of evolutionary type. There are three approaches to analyze SPDE: the "martingale measure approach", the "mild solution approach" and the "variational approach". The purpose of these notes is to give a concise and as self-contained as possible an introduction to the "variational approach". A large part of necessary background material is included in appendices.

As a relatively new area in mathematics, stochastic partial differential equations (PDEs) are still at a tender age and have not yet received much attention in the mathematical community. Filling the void of an introductory text in the field, Stochastic Partial Differential Equations introduces PDEs to students familiar with basic probability theor

The stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) arise in many applications of the probability theory. This monograph will focus on two particular (and probably the most known) equations: the stochastic heat equation and the stochastic wave equation.The focus is on the relationship between the solutions to the SPDEs and the fractional Brownian motion (and related processes). An important point of the analysis is the study of the asymptotic behavior of the p-variations of the solutions to the heat or wave equations driven by space-time Gaussian noise or by a Gaussian noise with a non-trivial correlation in space.The book is addressed to public with a reasonable background in probability theory. The idea is to keep it self-contained and avoid using of complex techniques. We also chose to insist on the basic properties of the random noise and to detail the construction of the Wiener integration with respect to them. The intention is to present the proofs complete and detailed.

This book is based on research that, to a large extent, started around 1990, when a research project on fluid flow in stochastic reservoirs was initiated by a group including some of us with the support of VISTA, a research coopera tion between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and Den norske stats oljeselskap A.S. (Statoil). The purpose of the project was to use stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) to describe the flow of fluid in a medium where some of the parameters, e.g., the permeability, were stochastic or "noisy". We soon realized that the theory of SPDEs at the time was insufficient to handle such equations. Therefore it became our aim to develop a new mathematically rigorous theory that satisfied the following conditions. 1) The theory should be physically meaningful and realistic, and the corre sponding solutions should make sense physically and should be useful in applications. 2) The theory should be general enough to handle many of the interesting SPDEs that occur in reservoir theory and related areas. 3) The theory should be strong and efficient enough to allow us to solve th,~se SPDEs explicitly, or at least provide algorithms or approximations for the solutions.

Taking readers with a basic knowledge of probability and real analysis to the frontiers of a very active research discipline, this textbook provides all the necessary background from functional analysis and the theory of PDEs. It covers the main types of equations (elliptic, hyperbolic and parabolic) and discusses different types of random forcing. The objective is to give the reader the necessary tools to understand the proofs of existing theorems about SPDEs (from other sources) and perhaps even to formulate and prove a few new ones. Most of the material could be covered in about 40 hours of lectures, as long as not too much time is spent on the general discussion of stochastic analysis in infinite dimensions. As the subject of SPDEs is currently making the transition from the research level to that of a graduate or even undergraduate course, the book attempts to present enough exercise material to fill potential exams and homework assignments. Exercises appear throughout and are usually directly connected to the material discussed at a particular place in the text. The questions usually ask to verify something, so that the reader already knows the answer and, if pressed for time, can move on. Accordingly, no solutions are provided, but there are often hints on how to proceed. The book will be of interest to everybody working in the area of stochastic analysis, from beginning graduate students to experts in the field.

Effective Dynamics of Stochastic Partial Differential Equations focuses on stochastic partial differential equations with slow and fast time scales, or large and small spatial scales. The authors have developed basic techniques, such as averaging, slow manifolds, and homogenization, to extract effective dynamics from these stochastic partial differential equations. The authors’ experience both as researchers and teachers enable them to convert current research on extracting effective dynamics of stochastic partial differential equations into concise and comprehensive chapters. The book helps readers by providing an accessible introduction to probability tools in Hilbert space and basics of stochastic partial differential equations. Each chapter also includes exercises and problems to enhance comprehension. New techniques for extracting effective dynamics of infinite dimensional dynamical systems under uncertainty Accessible introduction to probability tools in Hilbert space and basics of stochastic partial differential equations Solutions or hints to all Exercises

The general area of stochastic PDEs is interesting to mathematicians because it contains an enormous number of challenging open problems. There is also a great deal of interest in this topic because it has deep applications in disciplines that range from applied mathematics, statistical mechanics, and theoretical physics, to theoretical neuroscience, theory of complex chemical reactions [including polymer science], fluid dynamics, and mathematical finance. The stochastic PDEs that are studied in this book are similar to the familiar PDE for heat in a thin rod, but with the additional restriction that the external forcing density is a two-parameter stochastic process, or what is more commonly the case, the forcing is a "random noise," also known as a "generalized random field." At several points in the lectures, there are examples that highlight the phenomenon that stochastic PDEs are not a subset of PDEs. In fact, the introduction of noise in some partial differential equations can bring about not a small perturbation, but truly fundamental changes to the system that the underlying PDE is attempting to describe. The topics covered include a brief introduction to the stochastic heat equation, structure theory for the linear stochastic heat equation, and an in-depth look at intermittency properties of the solution to semilinear stochastic heat equations. Specific topics include stochastic integrals à la Norbert Wiener, an infinite-dimensional Itô-type stochastic integral, an example of a parabolic Anderson model, and intermittency fronts. There are many possible approaches to stochastic PDEs. The selection of topics and techniques presented here are informed by the guiding example of the stochastic heat equation. A co-publication of the AMS and CBMS.