Gradient estimates of Dirichlet heat kernels for unimodal Lévy processes

Under some mild assumptions on the Lévy measure and the symbol we obtain gradient estimates of Dirichlet heat kernels for pure‐jump isotropic unimodal Lévy processes in .     

Spectral heat content for Lévy processes

In this paper we study the spectral heat content for various Lévy processes. We establish the small time asymptotic behavior of the spectral heat content for Lévy processes of bounded variation in , . We also study the spectral heat content for arbitrary open sets of finite Lebesgue measure in with respect to symmetric Lévy processes of unbounded variation under certain conditions on their characteristic exponents. Finally, we establish that the small time asymptotic behavior of the spectral heat content is stable under integrable perturbations to the Lévy measure.     

Transition density estimates for jump Lévy processes

Upper estimates of densities of convolution semigroups of probability measures are given under explicit assumptions on the corresponding Lévy measure and the Lévy-Khinchin exponent.     

Transition probabilities of Lévy‐type processes: Parametrix construction

We present an existence result for Lévy‐type processes which requires only weak regularity assumptions on the symbol with respect to the space variable x. Applications range from existence and uniqueness results for Lévy‐driven SDEs with Hölder continuous coefficients to existence results for stable‐like processes and Lévy‐type processes with symbols of variable order. Moreover, we obtain heat kernel estimates for a class of Lévy and Lévy‐type processes. The paper includes an extensive list of Lévy(‐type) processes satisfying the assumptions of our results.     

Lévy processes on a first order model

The classical notion of Lévy process is generalized to one that takes as its values probabilities on a first or‐der model equipped with a commutative semigroup. This is achieved by applying a convolution product on definable probabilities and the infinite divisibility with respect to it (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Exponential moments of first passage times and related quantities for Lévy processes

For a Lévy process on the real line, we provide complete criteria for the finiteness of exponential moments of the first passage time into the interval , the sojourn time in the interval , and the last exit time from . Moreover, whenever these quantities are finite, we derive their respective asymptotic behavior as .     

A risk model driven by Lévy processes

We present a general risk model where the aggregate claims, as well as the premium function, evolve by jumps. This is achieved by incorporating a Lévy process into the model. This seeks to account for the discrete nature of claims and asset prices. We give several explicit examples of Lévy processes that can be used to drive a risk model. This allows us to incorporate aggregate claims and premium fluctuations in the same process. We discuss important features of such processes and their relevance to risk modeling. We also extend classical results on ruin probabilities to this model. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial regularity of semigroups generated by Lévy type operators

We apply the probabilistic coupling approach to establish spatial regularity of semigroups associated with Lévy type operators, by assuming that the corresponding martingale problem is well posed. In particular, we can prove the Lipschitz continuity of the associated semigroups, when the coefficients are Hölder continuous but the corresponding Lévy kernel may be singular.     

An optimal dividends problem with transaction costs for spectrally negative Lévy processes

We consider an optimal dividends problem with transaction costs where the reserves are modeled by a spectrally negative Lévy process. We make the connection with the classical de Finetti problem and show in particular that when the Lévy measure has a log-convex density, then an optimal strategy is given by paying out a dividend in such a way that the reserves are reduced to a certain level c₁ whenever they are above another level c₂. Further we describe a method to numerically find the optimal values of c₁ and c₂.     

Small-time expansions for the transition distributions of Lévy processes

Let X=(X_t)_t≥0 be a Lévy process with absolutely continuous Lévy measure ν. Small-time expansions of arbitrary polynomial order in t are obtained for the tails , y>0, of the process, assuming smoothness conditions on the Lévy density away from the origin. By imposing additional regularity conditions on the transition density p_t of X_t, an explicit expression for the remainder of the approximation is also given. As a byproduct, polynomial expansions of order n in t are derived for the transition densities of the process. The conditions imposed on p_t require that, away from the origin, its derivatives remain uniformly bounded as t→0. Such conditions are then shown to be satisfied for symmetric stable Lévy processes as well as some tempered stable Lévy processes such as the CGMY one. The expansions seem to correct the asymptotics previously reported in the literature.     

Hölder Exponent for a Two-Parameter Lévy Process

We study the regularity of a two-parameter Lévy process in the neighbourhood of a fixed point and then we compute the Hölder exponent of such a process.     

Ergodicity for the 3D stochastic Navier–Stokes equations perturbed by Lévy noise

In this work we construct a Markov family of martingale solutions for 3D stochastic Navier–Stokes equations (SNSE) perturbed by Lévy noise with periodic boundary conditions. Using the Kolmogorov equations of integrodifferential type associated with the SNSE perturbed by Lévy noise, we construct a transition semigroup and establish the existence of a unique invariant measure. We also show that it is ergodic and strongly mixing.     

A remark on the definitions of viscosity solutions for the integro-differential equations with Lévy operators

We prove the equivalence of the three different definitions of the viscosity solution for the integro-differential equation with the Lévy operator. The two of the definitions are known in the preceding works of the author and the others, and the last one is new. A construction of a sequence of the approximating test functions to the subsolution (or the supersolution) is indispensable for the proof, and it is done explicitly in the paper.     

Ergodicity of stochastic 2D Navier–Stokes equation with Lévy noise

In this paper we deal with the 2D Navier-Stokes equation perturbed by a Lévy noise force whose white noise part is non-degenerate and that the intensity measure of Poisson measure is σ-finite. Existence and uniqueness of invariant measure for this equation is obtained, two main properties of the Markov semigroup associated with this equation are proved. In other words, strong Feller property and irreducibility hold in the same space.     

A locally risk-minimizing hedging strategy for unit-linked life insurance contracts in a Lévy process financial market

In [Riesner, M., 2006. Hedging life insurance contracts in a Lévy process financial market. Insurance Math. Econom. 38, 599–608] the (locally) risk-minimizing hedging strategy for unit-linked life insurance contracts is determined in an incomplete financial market driven by a Lévy process. The considered risky asset is not a martingale under the original measure and therefore, a change of measure to the minimal martingale measure is performed.The goal of this paper is to show that the risk-minimizing hedging strategy under the new martingale measure which is found in the paper cited above is not the locally risk-minimizing strategy under the original measure. Finally, the real locally risk-minimizing strategy is derived and a relationship between the number of risky assets held in the proposed portfolio cited in the above-mentioned paper and the one proposed here is given.     

Approximating a Feller Semigroup by Using the Yosida Approximation of the Symbol of its Generator

We show that if the pseudodifferential operator −q(x,D) generates a Feller semigroup (T_t)_t≥0 then the Feller semigroups (T_t^(v))_t≥0 generated by the pseudodifferential operators with symbol will converge strongly to (T_t)_t≥0 as ν →∞.     

Continuity of eigenvalues of subordinate processes in domains

Let X={X_t,t≥0} be a symmetric Markov process in a state space E and D an open set of E. Let S⁽ⁿ⁾={S⁽ⁿ⁾_t, t ≥ 0} be a subordinator with Laplace exponent ϕ_n and S={S_t,t≥0} a subordinator with Laplace exponent ϕ. Suppose that X is independent of S and S⁽ⁿ⁾. In this paper we consider the subordinate processes and and their subprocesses and X^ϕ,D killed upon leaving D. Suppose that the spectra of the semigroups of and X^ϕ,D are all discrete, with being the eigenvalues of the generator of and being the eigenvalues of the generator of X^ϕ,D. We show that, if lim_n→∞ϕ_n(λ)=ϕ(λ) for every λ>0, then The research of this author is supported in part by NSF Grant DMS-0303310. The research of this author is supported in part by a joint US-Croatia grant INT 0302167.     

Optimal control problems constrained by the stochastic Navier–Stokes equations with multiplicative Lévy noise

We consider the controlled stochastic Navier–Stokes equations in a bounded multidimensional domain, where the noise term allows jumps. In order to prove existence and uniqueness of an optimal control w.r.t. a given control problem, we first need to show the existence and uniqueness of a local mild solution of the considered controlled stochastic Navier–Stokes equations. We then discuss the control problem, where the related cost functional includes stopping times dependent on controls. Based on the continuity of the cost functional, we can apply existence and uniqueness results provided in [4], which enables us to show that a unique optimal control exists.     

Optimality of the barrier strategy in de Finetti’s dividend problem for spectrally negative Lévy processes: An alternative approach

The optimal dividend problem proposed in de Finetti [1] is to find the dividend-payment strategy that maximizes the expected discounted value of dividends which are paid to the shareholders until the company is ruined. Avram et al. [9] studied the case when the risk process is modelled by a general spectrally negative Lévy process and Loeffen [10] gave sufficient conditions under which the optimal strategy is of the barrier type. Recently Kyprianou et al. [11] strengthened the result of Loeffen [10] which established a larger class of Lévy processes for which the barrier strategy is optimal among all admissible ones. In this paper we use an analytical argument to re-investigate the optimality of barrier dividend strategies considered in the three recent papers.