Stochastic Differential Equations

These notes are based on a postgraduate course I gave on stochastic differential equations at Edinburgh University in the spring 1982. No previous knowledge about the subject was assumed, but the presen tation is based on some background in measure theory. There are several reasons why one should learn more about stochastic differential equations: They have a wide range of applica tions outside mathematics, there are many fruitful connections to other mathematical disciplines and the subject has a rapidly develop ing life of its own as a fascinating research field with many interesting unanswered questions. Unfortunately most of the literature about stochastic differential equations seems to place so much emphasis on rigor and complete ness that is scares many nonexperts away. These notes are an attempt to approach the subject from the nonexpert point of view: Not knowing anything (except rumours, maybe) about a subject to start with, what would I like to know first of all? My answer would be: 1) In what situations does the subject arise? 2) What are its essential features? 3) What are the applications and the connections to other fields? I would not be so interested in the proof of the most general case, but rather in an easier proof of a special case, which may give just as much of the basic idea in the argument. And I would be willing to believe some basic results without proof (at first stage, anyway) in order to have time for some more basic applications.

With this hands-on introduction readers will learn what SDEs are all about and how they should use them in practice.

Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) are a powerful tool in science, mathematics, economics and finance. This book will help the reader to master the basic theory and learn some applications of SDEs. In particular, the reader will be provided with the backward SDE technique for use in research when considering financial problems in the market, and with the reflecting SDE technique to enable study of optimal stochastic population control problems. These two techniques are powerful and efficient, and can also be applied to research in many other problems in nature, science and elsewhere.

The numerical analysis of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) differs significantly from that of ordinary differential equations. This book provides an easily accessible introduction to SDEs, their applications and the numerical methods to solve such equations. From the reviews: "The authors draw upon their own research and experiences in obviously many disciplines... considerable time has obviously been spent writing this in the simplest language possible." --ZAMP

This book covers a highly relevant and timely topic that is of wide interest, especially in finance, engineering and computational biology. The introductory material on simulation and stochastic differential equation is very accessible and will prove popular with many readers. While there are several recent texts available that cover stochastic differential equations, the concentration here on inference makes this book stand out. No other direct competitors are known to date. With an emphasis on the practical implementation of the simulation and estimation methods presented, the text will be useful to practitioners and students with minimal mathematical background. What’s more, because of the many R programs, the information here is appropriate for many mathematically well educated practitioners, too.

Since the publication of the first edition of the present volume in 1980, the stochastic stability of differential equations has become a very popular subject of research in mathematics and engineering. To date exact formulas for the Lyapunov exponent, the criteria for the moment and almost sure stability, and for the existence of stationary and periodic solutions of stochastic differential equations have been widely used in the literature. In this updated volume readers will find important new results on the moment Lyapunov exponent, stability index and some other fields, obtained after publication of the first edition, and a significantly expanded bibliography. This volume provides a solid foundation for students in graduate courses in mathematics and its applications. It is also useful for those researchers who would like to learn more about this subject, to start their research in this area or to study the properties of concrete mechanical systems subjected to random perturbations.

This book provides a systematic and accessible approach to stochastic differential equations, backward stochastic differential equations, and their connection with partial differential equations, as well as the recent development of the fully nonlinear theory, including nonlinear expectation, second order backward stochastic differential equations, and path dependent partial differential equations. Their main applications and numerical algorithms, as well as many exercises, are included. The book focuses on ideas and clarity, with most results having been solved from scratch and most theories being motivated from applications. It can be considered a starting point for junior researchers in the field, and can serve as a textbook for a two-semester graduate course in probability theory and stochastic analysis. It is also accessible for graduate students majoring in financial engineering.

Stochastic Differential Equations and Applications, Volume 1 covers the development of the basic theory of stochastic differential equation systems. This volume is divided into nine chapters. Chapters 1 to 5 deal with the basic theory of stochastic differential equations, including discussions of the Markov processes, Brownian motion, and the stochastic integral. Chapter 6 examines the connections between solutions of partial differential equations and stochastic differential equations, while Chapter 7 describes the Girsanov’s formula that is useful in the stochastic control theory. Chapters 8 and 9 evaluate the behavior of sample paths of the solution of a stochastic differential system, as time increases to infinity. This book is intended primarily for undergraduate and graduate mathematics students.