On the Positivity of the Stochastic Heat Equation

We study the positivity preserving properties of the heat equation with a white noise potential and random initial condition. Moreover, we find a generalized Feynman--Kac formula for the solution of the problem using methods from the white noise analysis. The initial condition can anticipate the driving white noise. We show that the solution is positive, when the random initial condition is positive. For the case of a time-dependent white noise potential, we give a special representation of the solution together with regularity results.