Stochastic Burgers PDEs with random coefficients and a generalization of the Cole–Hopf transformation

This paper studies forward and backward versions of the random Burgers equation (RBE) with stochastic coefficients. First, the celebrated Cole–Hopf transformation reduces the forward RBE to a forward random heat equation (RHE) that can be treated pathwise. Next we provide a connection between the backward Burgers equation and a system of FBSDEs. Exploiting this connection, we derive a generalization of the Cole–Hopf transformation which links the backward RBE with the backward RHE and investigate the range of its applicability. Stochastic Feynman–Kac representations for the solutions are provided. Explicit solutions are constructed and applications in stochastic control and mathematical finance are discussed.     

Stochastic heat equation with random coefficients

We prove the existence of a unique solution for a one-dimensional stochastic parabolic partial differential equation with random and adapted coefficients perturbed by a two-parameter white noise. The proof is based on a maximal inequality for the Skorohod integral deduced from It?'s formula for this anticipating stochastic integral. Received: 21 November 1997 / Revised version: 20 July 1998     

On a random scaled porous media equation

It is shown that a random scaled porous media equation arising from a stochastic porous media equation with linear multiplicative noise through a random transformation is well-posed in L^∞. In the fast diffusion case we show existence in Lp.     

Zeno's walk: A random walk with refinements

Summary. A self-modifying random walk on is derived from an ordinary random walk on the integers by interpolating a new vertex into each edge as it is crossed. This process converges almost surely to a random variable which is totally singular with respect to Lebesgue measure, and which is supported on a subset of having Hausdorff dimension less than , which we calculate by a theorem of Billingsley. By generating function techniques we then calculate the exponential rate of convergence of the process to its limit point, which may be taken as a bound for the convergence of the measure in the Wasserstein metric. We describe how the process may viewed as a random walk on the space of monotone piecewise linear functions, where moves are taken by successive compositions with a randomly chosen such function. Received: 20 November 1995 / In revised form: 14 May 1996     

Convergence of the increments of a stochastic integral associated to the stochastic wave equation

We study a type of one-dimensional wave equation on the plane with non-linear random forcing. We are interested in the almost sure behaviour of the normalized increments of the solution process associated to this type of wave equation. Also we study the behaviour of the normalized increments of some other stochastic integral equation.     

On the cohomology of flows of stochastic and random differential equations

We consider the flow of a stochastic differential equation on d-dimensional Euclidean space. We show that if the Lie algebra generated by its diffusion vector fields is finite dimensional and solvable, then the flow is conjugate to the flow of a non-autonomous random differential equation, i.e. one can be transformed into the other via a random diffeomorphism of d-dimensional Euclidean space. Viewing a stochastic differential equation in this form which appears closer to the setting of ergodic theory, can be an advantage when dealing with asymptotic properties of the system. To illustrate this, we give sufficient criteria for the existence of global random attractors in terms of the random differential equation, which are applied in the case of the Duffing-van der Pol oscillator with two independent sources of noise. Received: 25 May 1999 / Revised version: 19 October 2000 / Published online: 26 April 2001     

Stochastic reaction diffusion equations on an infinite interval with reflection

We consider a time evolution of random fields with non-negative values on the real line. Such evolution is described by an infinite dimensional stochastic differential equation of Skorokhod's type, which is a stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) of parabolic type with reflection. We shall show the existence of the solution, and its uniqueness when the diffusion coefficient is constant.     

Biased random walks on Galton–Watson trees

Summary. We consider random walks with a bias toward the root on the family tree T of a supercritical Galton–Watson branching process and show that the speed is positive whenever the walk is transient. The corresponding harmonic measures are carried by subsets of the boundary of dimension smaller than that of the whole boundary. When the bias is directed away from the root and the extinction probability is positive, the speed may be zero even though the walk is transient; the critical bias for positive speed is determined. Received: 7 July 1995 / In revised form: 9 January 1996     

Skorohod integration and stochastic calculus beyond the fractional Brownian scale

We extend the Skorohod integral, allowing integration with respect to Gaussian processes that can be more irregular than any fractional Brownian motion. This is done by restricting the class of test random variables used to define Skorohod integrability. A detailed analysis of the size of this class is given; it is proved to be non-empty even for Gaussian processes which are not continuous on any closed interval. Despite the extreme irregularity of these stochastic integrators, the Skorohod integral is shown to be uniquely defined, and to be useful: an Ito formula is established; it is employed to derive a Tanaka formula for a corresponding local time; linear additive and multiplicative stochastic differential equations are solved; an analysis of existence for the stochastic heat equation is given.     

Large deviations for the Boussinesq equations under random influences

A Boussinesq model for the Bénard convection under random influences is considered as a system of stochastic partial differential equations. This is a coupled system of stochastic Navier–Stokes equations and the transport equation for temperature. Large deviations are proved, using a weak convergence approach based on a variational representation of functionals of infinite-dimensional Brownian motion.     

Heat equation with a general stochastic measure on nested fractals

A stochastic heat equation on an unbounded nested fractal driven by a general stochastic measure is investigated. Existence, uniqueness and continuity of the mild solution are proved provided that the spectral dimension of the fractal is less than 4/3.     

Enlargement of the Wiener filtration by an absolutely continuous random variable via Malliavin’s calculus

Summary. The analytic treatment of problems related to the asymptotic behaviour of random dynamical systems generated by stochastic differential equations suffers from the presence of non-adapted random invariant measures. Semimartingale theory becomes accessible if the underlying Wiener filtration is enlarged by the information carried by the orthogonal projectors on the Oseledets spaces of the (linearized) system. We study the corresponding problem of preservation of the semimartingale property and the validity of a priori inequalities between the norms of stochastic integrals in the enlarged filtration and norms of their quadratic variations in case the random element F enlarging the filtration is real valued and possesses an absolutely continuous law. Applying the tools of Malliavin’s calculus, we give smoothness conditions on F under which the semimartingale property is preserved and a priori martingale inequalities are valid. Received: 12 April 1995 / In revised form: 7 March 1996     

On the long time behavior of the stochastic heat equation

We consider the stochastic heat equation in one space dimension and compute – for a particular choice of the initial datum – the exact long time asymptotic. In the Carmona-Molchanov approach to intermittence in non stationary random media this corresponds to the identification of the sample Lyapunov exponent. Equivalently, by interpreting the solution as the partition function of a directed polymer in a random environment, we obtain a weak law of large numbers for the quenched free energy. The result agrees with the one obtained in the physical literature via the replica method. The proof is based on a representation of the solution in terms of the weakly asymmetric exclusion process. Received: 11 November 1997 / Revised version: 31 July 1998     

On the transitivity of the comonotonic and countermonotonic comparison of random variables

A recently proposed method for the pairwise comparison of arbitrary independent random variables results in a probabilistic relation. When restricted to discrete random variables uniformly distributed on finite multisets of numbers, this probabilistic relation expresses the winning probabilities between pairs of hypothetical dice that carry these numbers and exhibits a particular type of transitivity called dice-transitivity. In case these multisets have equal cardinality, two alternative methods for statistically comparing the ordered lists of the numbers on the faces of the dice have been studied recently: the comonotonic method based upon the comparison of the numbers of the same rank when the lists are in increasing order, and the countermonotonic method, also based upon the comparison of only numbers of the same rank but with the lists in opposite order. In terms of the discrete random variables associated to these lists, these methods each turn out to be related to a particular copula that joins the marginal cumulative distribution functions into a bivariate cumulative distribution function. The transitivity of the generated probabilistic relation has been completely characterized. In this paper, the list comparison methods are generalized for the purpose of comparing arbitrary random variables. The transitivity properties derived in the case of discrete uniform random variables are shown to be generic. Additionally, it is shown that for a collection of normal random variables, both comparison methods lead to a probabilistic relation that is at least moderately stochastic transitive.     

Elliptic equations for measures on infinite dimensional spaces and applications

We introduce and study a new concept of a weak elliptic equation for measures on infinite dimensional spaces. This concept allows one to consider equations whose coefficients are not globally integrable. By using a suitably extended Lyapunov function technique, we derive a priori estimates for the solutions of such equations and prove new existence results. As an application, we consider stochastic Burgers, reaction-diffusion, and Navier-Stokes equations and investigate the elliptic equations for the corresponding invariant measures. Our general theorems yield a priori estimates and existence results for such elliptic equations. We also obtain moment estimates for Gibbs distributions and prove an existence result applicable to a wide class of models. Received: 23 January 2000 / Revised version: 4 October 2000 / Published online: 5 June 2001     

On a class of stochastic partial differential equations related to turbulent transport

Summary. We consider the Cauchy problem for the mass density ρ of particles which diffuse in an incompressible fluid. The dynamical behaviour of ρ is modeled by a linear, uniformly parabolic differential equation containing a stochastic vector field. This vector field is interpreted as the velocity field of the fluid in a state of turbulence. Combining a contraction method with techniques from white noise analysis we prove an existence and uniqueness result for the solution ρ∈C ^1,2([0,T]×ℝ ^d ,(S)^*), which is a generalized random field. For a subclass of Cauchy problems we show that ρ actually is a classical random field, i.e. ρ(t,x) is an L ²-random variable for all time and space parameters (t,x)∈[0,T]×ℝ ^d . Received: 27 March 1995 / In revised form: 15 May 1997     

Sharp Gaussian regularity on the circle, and applications to the fractional stochastic heat equation

A sharp regularity theory is established for homogeneous Gaussian fields on the unit circle. Two types of characterizations for such a field to have a given almost-sure uniform modulus of continuity are established in a general setting. The first characterization relates the modulus to the field's canonical metric; the full force of Fernique's zero-one laws and Talagrand's theory of majorizing measures is required. The second characterization ties the modulus to the field's random Fourier series representation. As an application, it is shown that the fractional stochastic heat equation has, up to a non-random constant, a given spatial modulus of continuity if and only if the same property holds for a fractional antiderivative of the equation's additive noise; a random Fourier series characterization is also given.     

On the smallest maximal increment of partial sums of i.i.d. random variables

Summary. We study the almost sure limiting behavior of the smallest maximal increment of partial sums of independent identically distributed random variables for a variety of increment sizes , where is a sequence of integers satisfying , and going to infinity at various rates. Our aim is to obtain universal results on such behavior under little or no assumptions on the underlying distribution function. Received: 30 August 1995 / In revised form: 27 September 1996     

Stationary and multi-self-similar random fields with stochastic volatility

This paper introduces stationary and multi-self-similar random fields which account for stochastic volatility and have type G marginal law. The stationary random fields are constructed using volatility modulated mixed moving average (MA) fields and their probabilistic properties are discussed. Also, two methods for parameterizing the weight functions in the MA representation are presented: one method is based on Fourier techniques and aims at reproducing a given correlation structure, the other method is based on ideas from stochastic partial differential equations. Moreover, using a generalized Lamperti transform we construct volatility modulated multi-self-similar random fields which have type G distribution.     

Ito's- and Tanaka's-type formulae for the stochastic heat equation: The linear case

In this paper, we consider the linear stochastic heat equation with additive noise in dimension one. Then, using the representation of its solution X as a stochastic convolution of the cylindrical Brownian motion with respect to an operator-valued kernel, we derive Itô's- and Tanaka's-type formulae associated to X.