Identification of the Hurst Index of a Step Fractional Brownian Motion

We propose a semi-parametric estimator for a piece-wise constant Hurst coefficient of a step fractional Brownian motion (SFBM). For the applications, we want to detect abrupt changes of the Hurst index (which represents long-range correlation) for a Gaussian process with a.s. continuous paths. The previous model of multifractional Brownian motion give a.s. discontinuous paths at change times of the Hurst index. Thus, we first propose a new kind of Fractional Brownian Motion, the SFBM and prove some (Hölder) continuity results. After, we propose an estimator of the piecewise constant Hurst parameter and prove its consistency.