Exact Buffer Overflow Calculations for Queues via Martingales

Let _n be the first time a queueing process like the queue length or workload exceeds a level n. For the M/M/1 queue length process, the mean _n and the Laplace transform e^-sn is derived in closed form using a martingale introduced in Kella and Whitt (1992). For workload processes and more general systems like MAP/PH/1, we use a Markov additive extension given in Asmussen and Kella (2000) to derive sets of linear equations determining the same quantities. Numerical illustrations are presented in the framework of M/M/1 and MMPP/M/1 with an application to performance evaluation of telecommunication systems with long-range dependent properties in the packet arrival process. Different approximations that are obtained from asymptotic theory are compared with exact numerical results.     

Stability and Attraction to Normality for Lévy Processes at Zero and at Infinity

We prove some limiting results for a Lévy process X _t as t0 or t, with a view to their ultimate application in boundary crossing problems for continuous time processes. In the present paper we are mostly concerned with ideas related to relative stability and attraction to the normal distribution on the one hand and divergence to large values of the Lévy process on the other. The aim is to find analytical conditions for these kinds of behaviour which are in terms of the characteristics of the process, rather than its distribution. Some surprising results occur, especially for the case t0; for example, we may have X _t /t ^P + (t0) (weak divergence to +), whereas X _t /t a.s. (t0) is impossible (both are possible when t), and the former can occur when the negative Lévy spectral component dominates the positive, in a certain sense. Almost sure stability of X _t , i.e., X _t tending to a nonzero constant a.s. as t or as t0, after normalisation by a non-stochastic measurable function, reduces to the same type of convergence but with normalisation by t, thus is equivalent to strong law behaviour. Boundary crossing problems which are amenable to the methods we develop arise in areas such as sequential analysis and option pricing problems in finance.     

The Entrance Laws of Self-Similar Markov Processes and Exponential Functionals of Lévy Processes

We consider the asymptotic behavior of semi-stable Markov processes valued in ]0,[ when the starting point tends to 0. The entrance distribution is expressed in terms of the exponential functional of the underlying Lévy process which appears in Lamperti's representation of a semi-stable Markov process.     

Derivation of a new class of distributions for the microcanonical ensemble

A new class of distributions for the microcanonical ensemble, which are shown to be stable laws, are derived by applying the central limit theorem to the canonical ensemble. This opens up a whole new host of phenomena that can be treated from a unified thermodynamic point of view. Pressure broadening of line shapes is used as an illustration.1. Work supported, in part, by contributions from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche and the Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica.2. The interaction parameterC is proportional to the mean square dipole moment. As an order of magnitude of the dipole moment, we can take it as the product of the electric charge and a typical atomic radius for a moderately excited state, which is several times the Bohr radius. Multiplication by the fine structure constant converts the Bohr radius into the Compton wavelength, thereby reducing the magnitude of the interaction by 1/137.     

Photon channelling in foams

Experiments by Gittings, Bandyopadhyay and Durian (Europhys. Lett. 65, 414 (2004)) demonstrate that light possesses a higher probability to propagate in the liquid phase of a foam due to total reflection. The authors term this observation photon channelling which we investigate in this article theoretically. We first derive a central relation in the work of Gitting et al. without any free parameters. It links the photon's path-length fraction f in the liquid phase to the liquid fraction ɛ. We then construct two-dimensional Voronoi foams, replace the cell edges by channels to represent the liquid films and simulate photon paths according to the laws of ray optics using transmission and reflection coefficients from Fresnel's formulas. In an exact honeycomb foam, the photons show superdiffusive behavior. It becomes diffusive as soon as disorder is introduced into the foams. The dependence of the diffusion constant on channel width and refractive index is explained by a one-dimensional random-walk model. It contains a photon channelling state that is crucial for the understanding of the numerical results. At the end, we shortly comment on the observation that photon channelling only occurs in a finite range of ɛ.     

Stochastic Ornstein–Uhlenbeck Capacitors

We introduce and study a class of random capacitor systems which are both charged and discharged stochastically. A capacitor is fed by a random inflow with stationary and independent increments. Discharging occurs according to a Markovian rate which is linear in the capacitors level. The resulting capacitor dynamics are Markovian, stochastically cyclic, and regenerative. We coin these systems Lévy-charged Ornstein–Uhlenbeck capacitors. Various random quantities associated with these systems are analyzed, including: the time-to- discharge; the duration of the charging cycle; the trajectory and the peak height of the capacitor level during a charging cycle; and, the capacitors stationary equilibrium level. Furthermore, we show that there are sharp distinctions between these capacitor systems and corresponding standard Lévy-driven Ornstein–Uhlenbeck systems.     

Explicit Solution of a Non-Linear Filtering Problem for Lévy Processes with Application to Finance

In this paper we explicitly solve a non-linear filtering problem with mixed observations, modelled by a Brownian motion and a generalized Cox process, whose jump intensity is given in terms of a Lévy measure. Motivated by empirical observations of R. Cont and P. Tankov we propose a model for financial assets, which captures the phenomenon of time inhomogeneity of the jump size density. We apply the explicit formula to obtain the optimal filter for the corresponding filtering problem.     

Induced product representations of extended Cuntz algebras

Let _H be the extended Cuntz algebra over the Hilbert space H. Since its zero grade part _H⁰ is the C^*-inductive limit of B(H^r), we look for some family of representations on an inductive limit of H^r as r. When such construction is shaped according to the structure of _H⁰, von Neumanns notion of a reference sequence of unit vectors for Hilbert infinite tensor products emerges; after a further Rieffel induction step, a class IPR[H] of representations of _H arises. For any two such representations, we describe explicitly their associated intertwiners. Any two representations in IPR[H] are either disjoint or unitarily equivalent. Actions of the group by translation on sequences of unit vectors are involved, as well as the ideals of .     

Large Deviations of Local Times of Lévy Processes

For X(t) a real-valued symmetric Lévy process, its characteristic function is E(e ^iX(t))=exp(–t()). Assume that is regularly varying at infinity with index 1<2. Let L ^x _t denote the local time of X(t) and L* _t =sup _xR L ^x _t . Estimates are obtained for P(L ⁰ _t y) and P(L* _t y) as y and t fixed.