Stochastic Partial Differential Equations An Introduction

This book provides an introduction to the theory of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) of evolutionary type. SPDEs are one of the main research directions in probability theory with several wide ranging applications. Many types of dynamics with stochastic influence in nature or man-made complex systems can be modelled by such equations. The theory of SPDEs is based both on the theory of deterministic partial differential equations, as well as on modern stochastic analysis. Whilst this volume mainly follows the ‘variational approach’, it also contains a short account on the ‘semigroup (or mild solution) approach’. In particular, the volume contains a complete presentation of the main existence and uniqueness results in the case of locally monotone coefficients. Various types of generalized coercivity conditions are shown to guarantee non-explosion, but also a systematic approach to treat SPDEs with explosion in finite time is developed. It is, so far, the only book where the latter and the ‘locally monotone case’ is presented in a detailed and complete way for SPDEs. The extension to this more general framework for SPDEs, for example, in comparison to the well-known case of globally monotone coefficients, substantially widens the applicability of the results.

The $L_2$-theory of parabolic SPDEs is presented in this book. The development of the theory of SPDEs is motivated by problems arising in practice surrounding the numerical calculations of nonlinear filters for partially observed diffusion processes. To address these questions, the dependence of SPDEs on the driving semimartingales is investigated and new results on their numerical approximations are also given. In contrast to previous expositions, SPDEs driven by random measures and discontinuous semimartingales are also considered, and the theory of SPDEs driven by Levy processes are included as special cases. The author introduces a more general theory of SPDEs developing the theory of stochastic evolution equations in Banach spaces. He presents applications to large classes of linear and nonlinear SPDEs and , in particular, he developes a theory of SPDEs with unbounded coefficients in weighted Sobolev spaces. In this unique book regularity properties of the solutions are obtained via new results on dependence of the solutions on parameters, and existence and uniqueness theorems for parabolic SPDEs on smooth domains of $R^d$ are proven. Furthermore, the present book makes the theory more accessible for beginners, because initial linear parabolic SPDEs on the whole $R^d$ are considered, and the main existence and uniqueness results are obtained by elementary methods while exercises and applications are also provided

This book gives a concise introduction to the classical theory of stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs). It begins by describing the classes of equations which are studied later in the book, together with a list of motivating examples of SPDEs which are used in physics, population dynamics, neurophysiology, finance and signal processing. The central part of the book studies SPDEs as infinite-dimensional SDEs, based on the variational approach to PDEs. This extends both the classical Itô formulation and the martingale problem approach due to Stroock and Varadhan. The final chapter considers the solution of a space-time white noise-driven SPDE as a real-valued function of time and (one-dimensional) space. The results of J. Walsh's St Flour notes on the existence, uniqueness and Hölder regularity of the solution are presented. In addition, conditions are given under which the solution remains nonnegative, and the Malliavin calculus is applied. Lastly, reflected SPDEs and their connection with super Brownian motion are considered. At a time when new sophisticated branches of the subject are being developed, this book will be a welcome reference on classical SPDEs for newcomers to the theory.

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.

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.

These notes provide a concise introduction to stochastic differential equations and their application to the study of financial markets and as a basis for modeling diverse physical phenomena. They are accessible to non-specialists and make a valuable addition to the collection of texts on the topic. --Srinivasa Varadhan, New York University This is a handy and very useful text for studying stochastic differential equations. There is enough mathematical detail so that the reader can benefit from this introduction with only a basic background in mathematical analysis and probability. --George Papanicolaou, Stanford University This book covers the most important elementary facts regarding stochastic differential equations; it also describes some of the applications to partial differential equations, optimal stopping, and options pricing. The book's style is intuitive rather than formal, and emphasis is made on clarity. This book will be very helpful to starting graduate students and strong undergraduates as well as to others who want to gain knowledge of stochastic differential equations. I recommend this book enthusiastically. --Alexander Lipton, Mathematical Finance Executive, Bank of America Merrill Lynch This short book provides a quick, but very readable introduction to stochastic differential equations, that is, to differential equations subject to additive ``white noise'' and related random disturbances. The exposition is concise and strongly focused upon the interplay between probabilistic intuition and mathematical rigor. Topics include a quick survey of measure theoretic probability theory, followed by an introduction to Brownian motion and the Ito stochastic calculus, and finally the theory of stochastic differential equations. The text also includes applications to partial differential equations, optimal stopping problems and options pricing. This book can be used as a text for senior undergraduates or beginning graduate students in mathematics, applied mathematics, physics, financial mathematics, etc., who want to learn the basics of stochastic differential equations. The reader is assumed to be fairly familiar with measure theoretic mathematical analysis, but is not assumed to have any particular knowledge of probability theory (which is rapidly developed in Chapter 2 of the book).

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.