Stein’s method on Wiener chaos

We combine Malliavin calculus with Stein’s method, in order to derive explicit bounds in the Gaussian and Gamma approximations of random variables in a fixed Wiener chaos of a general Gaussian process. Our approach generalizes, refines and unifies the central and non-central limit theorems for multiple Wiener–Itô integrals recently proved (in several papers, from 2005 to 2007) by Nourdin, Nualart, Ortiz-Latorre, Peccati and Tudor. We apply our techniques to prove Berry–Esséen bounds in the Breuer–Major CLT for subordinated functionals of fractional Brownian motion. By using the well-known Mehler’s formula for Ornstein–Uhlenbeck semigroups, we also recover a technical result recently proved by Chatterjee, concerning the Gaussian approximation of functionals of finite-dimensional Gaussian vectors.     

Second order Poincaré inequalities and CLTs on Wiener space

We prove infinite-dimensional second order Poincaré inequalities on Wiener space, thus closing a circle of ideas linking limit theorems for functionals of Gaussian fields, Stein's method and Malliavin calculus. We provide two applications: (i) to a new “second order” characterization of CLTs on a fixed Wiener chaos, and (ii) to linear functionals of Gaussian-subordinated fields.     

Chaos expansion and asymptotic behavior of the Pareto distribution

We give the chaos expansion of a random variable with Pareto distribution and we analyze, by using the Malliavin calculus, the convergence in the distribution of a sequence of random variable with Pareto distribution toward the standard exponential law.     

Wick calculus for nonlinear Gaussian functionals

This paper surveys some results on Wick product and Wick renormalization. The framework is the abstract Wiener space. Some known results on Wick product and Wick renormalization in the white noise analysis framework are presented for classical random variables. Some conditions are described for random variables whose Wick product or whose renormalization are integrable random variables. Relevant results on multiple Wiener integrals, second quantization operator, Malliavin calculus and their relations with the Wick product and Wick renormalization are also briefly presented. A useful tool for Wick product is the S-transform which is also described without the introduction of generalized random variables.     

A fictitious domain approach to the numerical solution of PDEs in stochastic domains

We present an efficient method for the numerical realization of elliptic PDEs in domains depending on random variables. Domains are bounded, and have finite fluctuations. The key feature is the combination of a fictitious domain approach and a polynomial chaos expansion. The PDE is solved in a larger, fixed domain (the fictitious domain), with the original boundary condition enforced via a Lagrange multiplier acting on a random manifold inside the new domain. A (generalized) Wiener expansion is invoked to convert such a stochastic problem into a deterministic one, depending on an extra set of real variables (the stochastic variables). Discretization is accomplished by standard mixed finite elements in the physical variables and a Galerkin projection method with numerical integration (which coincides with a collocation scheme) in the stochastic variables. A stability and convergence analysis of the method, as well as numerical results, are provided. The convergence is “spectral” in the polynomial chaos order, in any subdomain which does not contain the random boundaries.     

Smoothness of Densities of Generalized Locally Non-Degenerate Wiener Functionals

Several criteria for existence of smooth densities of Wiener functionals are known in the framework of Malliavin calculus. In this article, we introduce the notion of generalized locally non-degenerate Wiener functionals and prove that they possess smooth densities. The result presented here unifies the earlier works by Shigekawa and Florit-Nualart. As an application, we prove that the law of the strong solution to a stochastic differential equation driven by Brownian motion admits a smooth density without an assumption of Lipschitz continuity for dispersion coefficients.     

Central limit theorems for multiple stochastic integrals and Malliavin calculus

We give a new characterization for the convergence in distribution to a standard normal law of a sequence of multiple stochastic integrals of a fixed order with variance one, in terms of the Malliavin derivatives of the sequence. We also give a new proof of the main theorem in [D. Nualart, G. Peccati, Central limit theorems for sequences of multiple stochastic integrals, Ann. Probab. 33 (2005) 177–193] using techniques of Malliavin calculus. Finally, we extend our result to the multidimensional case and prove a weak convergence result for a sequence of square integrable random vectors, giving an application.     

Malliavin calculus for difference approximations of multidimensional diffusions: Truncated local limit theorem

The truncated local limit theorem is proved for difference approximations of multidimensional diffusions. Under very mild conditions on the distributions of difference terms, this theorem states that the transition probabilities of these approximations, after truncation of some asymptotically negligible terms, possess densities uniformly convergent to the transition probability density for the limiting diffusion and satisfy certain uniform diffusion-type estimates. The proof is based on a new version of the Malliavin calculus for the product of a finite family of measures that may contain nontrivial singular components. Applications to the uniform estimation of mixing and convergence rates for difference approximations of stochastic differential equations and to the convergence of difference approximations of local times for multidimensional diffusions are presented. Published in Ukrains’kyi Matematychnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 60, No. 3, pp. 340–381, March, 2008.     

A Smooth Approach to Malliavin Calculus for Lévy Processes

An approach to Malliavin calculus for Lévy processes, discrete in time and smooth in chance, is presented. Each Lévy triple can be satisfied by a Lévy process living on a fixed sample space Ω, which is, in a certain sense, a finite dimensional Euclidean space. The probability measures on Ω characterize the Lévy processes. We compare these measures with the associated Lévy measures, and present several examples. Using chaos expansions for Lévy functionals, even for those having no moments, we can represent all these functionals by polynomials in several variables. There exists an effective method to compute the kernels of the chaos decomposition. Finally, we point out several applications, which are postponed to a succession of papers. Dedicated to Helmut Schwichtenberg.     

Derivative-free Greeks for the Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard stochastic volatility model

We derive derivative-free formulas for the Delta and other Greeks of options written on an asset modelled by a geometric Brownian motion with stochastic volatility of Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard type. The method applies the Malliavin calculus in Wiener space which moves differentiation of the payoff function of the option to a random weight function. Our method paves the way for simple Monte Carlo approaches, illustrated by several numerical examples.     

Non-Gaussian Malliavin calculus on real Lie algebras

The non-commutative Malliavin calculus on the Heisenberg-Weyl algebra is extended to the affine algebra. A differential calculus and a non-commutative integration by parts are established. As an application we obtain sufficient conditions for the smoothness of Wigner-type laws of non-commutative random variables with gamma or continuous binomial marginals.     

On the rate of convergence for central limit theorems of sojourn times of Gaussian fields

The aim of this paper is to control the rate of convergence for central limit theorems of sojourn times of Gaussian fields in both cases: the fixed and the moving level. Our main tools are the Malliavin calculus and the Stein method, developed by Nualart, Peccati and Nourdin. We also extend some results of Berman to the multidimensional case.     

Malliavin calculus and asymptotic expansion for martingales

Summary. We present an asymptotic expansion of the distribution of a random variable which admits a stochastic expansion around a continuous martingale. The emphasis is put on the use of the Malliavin calculus; the uniform nondegeneracy of the Malliavin covariance under certain truncation plays an essential role as the Cramér condition did in the case of independent observations. Applications to statistics are presented. Received: 5 September 1995 / In revised form: 20 October 1996     

Limites approximatives dans l’espace de Wiener

We show that a family of square integrable random variables defined on the Wiener space possess an approximate limit with respect to quadratic norms and that some variables of the second Wiener chaos possess an approximate limit with respect to measurable norms.     

Malliavin Greeks without Malliavin calculus

We derive and analyze Monte Carlo estimators of price sensitivities (“Greeks”) for contingent claims priced in a diffusion model. There have traditionally been two categories of methods for estimating sensitivities: methods that differentiate paths and methods that differentiate densities. A more recent line of work derives estimators through Malliavin calculus. The purpose of this article is to investigate connections between Malliavin estimators and the more traditional and elementary pathwise method and likelihood ratio method. Malliavin estimators have been derived directly for diffusion processes, but implementation typically requires simulation of a discrete-time approximation. This raises the question of whether one should discretize first and then differentiate, or differentiate first and then discretize. We show that in several important cases the first route leads to the same estimators as are found through Malliavin calculus, but using only elementary techniques. Time-averaging of multiple estimators emerges as a key feature in achieving convergence to the continuous-time limit.     

Supremum concentration inequality and modulus of continuity for sub-nth chaos processes

This article provides a detailed analysis of the behavior of suprema and moduli of continuity for a large class of random fields which generalize Gaussian processes, sub-Gaussian processes, and random fields that are in the nth chaos of a Wiener process. An upper bound of Dudley type on the tail of the random field's supremum is derived using a generic chaining argument; it implies similar results for the expected supremum, and for the field's modulus of continuity. We also utilize a sharp and convenient condition using iterated Malliavin derivatives, to arrive at similar conclusions for suprema, via a different proof, which does not require full knowledge of the covariance structure.     

Poisson discretizations of Wiener functionals and Malliavin operators with Wasserstein estimates

This article proposes a global, chaos-based procedure for the discretization of functionals of Brownian motion into functionals of a Poisson process with intensity $\lambda >0$. Under this discretization we study the weak convergence, as the intensity of the underlying Poisson process goes to infinity, of Poisson functionals and their corresponding Malliavin-type derivatives to their Wiener counterparts. In addition, we derive a convergence rate of $O\left({\lambda }^{?1∕4}\right)$ for the Poisson discretization of Wiener functionals by combining the multivariate Chen–Stein method with the Malliavin calculus. Our proposed sufficient condition for establishing the mentioned convergence rate involves the kernel functions in the Wiener chaos, yet we provide examples, especially the discretization of some common path dependent Wiener functionals, to which our results apply without committing the explicit computations of such kernels. To the best our knowledge, these are the first results in the literature on the universal convergence rate of a global discretization of general Wiener functionals.     

Generalized positive continuous additive functionals of multidimensional Brownian motion and their associated Revuz measures

We extend the notion of positive continuous additive functionals of multidimensional Brownian motions to generalized Wiener functionals in the setting of Malliavin calculus. We call such a functional a generalized PCAF. The associated Revuz measure and a characteristic of a generalized PCAF are also extended adequately. By making use of these tools a local time representation of generalized PCAFs is discussed. It is known that a Radon measure corresponds to a generalized Wiener functional through the occupation time formula. We also study a condition for this functional to be a generalized PCAF and the relation between the associated Revuz measure of the generalized PCAF corresponding to Radon measure and this Radon measure. Finally we discuss a criterion to determine the exact Meyer–Watanabe’s Sobolev space to which this corresponding functional belongs.     

Distances Between Poisson k -Flats

The distances between flats of a Poisson k-flat process in the d-dimensional Euclidean space with k?<?d/2 are discussed. Continuing an approach originally due to Rolf Schneider, the number of pairs of flats having distance less than a given threshold and midpoint in a fixed compact and convex set is considered. For a family of increasing convex subsets, the asymptotic variance is computed and a central limit theorem with an explicit rate of convergence is proven. Moreover, the asymptotic distribution of the m-th smallest distance between two flats is investigated and it is shown that the ordered distances form asymptotically after suitable rescaling an inhomogeneous Poisson point process on the positive real half-axis. A similar result with a homogeneous limiting process is derived for distances around a fixed, strictly positive value. Our proofs rely on recent findings based on the Wiener–Itô chaos decomposition and the Malliavin–Stein method.