This text is aimed at students and professionals working on random processes in various areas, including physics and finance. The material presents the theoretical framework which Melvin Lax taught at the City University of New York from 1985 to 2001.

The book is an introduction to stochastic processes with applications from physics and finance. It introduces the basic notions of probability theory and the mathematics of stochastic processes. The applications that we discuss are chosen to show the interdisciplinary character of the concepts and methods and are taken from physics and finance. Due to its interdisciplinary character and choice of topics, the book can show students and researchers in physics how models and techniques used in their field can be translated into and applied in the field of finance and risk-management. On the other hand, a practitioner from the field of finance will find models and approaches recently developed in the emerging field of econophysics for understanding the stochastic price behavior of financial assets.

This book introduces the theory of stochastic processes with applications taken from physics and finance. Fundamental concepts like the random walk or Brownian motion but also Levy-stable distributions are discussed. Applications are selected to show the interdisciplinary character of the concepts and methods. In the second edition of the book a discussion of extreme events ranging from their mathematical definition to their importance for financial crashes was included. The exposition of basic notions of probability theory and the Brownian motion problem as well as the relation between conservative diffusion processes and quantum mechanics is expanded. The second edition also enlarges the treatment of financial markets. Beyond a presentation of geometric Brownian motion and the Black-Scholes approach to option pricing as well as the econophysics analysis of the stylized facts of financial markets, an introduction to agent based modeling approaches is given.

This book introduces the theory of stochastic processes with applications taken from physics and finance. Fundamental concepts like the random walk or Brownian motion but also Levy-stable distributions are discussed. Applications are selected to show the interdisciplinary character of the concepts and methods. In the second edition of the book a discussion of extreme events ranging from their mathematical definition to their importance for financial crashes was included. The exposition of basic notions of probability theory and the Brownian motion problem as well as the relation between conservative diffusion processes and quantum mechanics is expanded. The second edition also enlarges the treatment of financial markets. Beyond a presentation of geometric Brownian motion and the Black-Scholes approach to option pricing as well as the econophysics analysis of the stylized facts of financial markets, an introduction to agent based modeling approaches is given.

This book presents a self-contained introduction to stochastic processes with emphasis on their applications in science, engineering, finance, computer science, and operations research. It provides theoretical foundations for modeling time-dependent random phenomena in these areas and illustrates their application by analyzing numerous practical examples. The treatment assumes few prerequisites, requiring only the standard mathematical maturity acquired by undergraduate applied science students. It includes an introductory chapter that summarizes the basic probability theory needed as background. Numerous exercises reinforce the concepts and techniques discussed and allow readers to assess their grasp of the subject. Solutions to most of the exercises are provided in an appendix. While focused primarily on practical aspects, the presentation includes some important proofs along with more challenging examples and exercises for those more theoretically inclined. Mastering the contents of this book prepares readers to apply stochastic modeling in their own fields and enables them to work more creatively with software designed for dealing with the data analysis aspects of stochastic processes.

This text is aimed at professionals and students working on random processes in various areas, including physics and finance. The first author, Melvin Lax (1922-2002), was a distinguished Professor of Physics at City College of New York and a member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences, widely known for his contribution on random processes in physics. Most chapters of this book are the outcome of the class notes which Lax taught at the City University of New York from 1985 to 2001. The material is unique as it presents the theoretical framework of Lax's treatment of random processes, starting from basic probability theory, to Fokker-Planck and Langevin Processes, and includes diverse applications, such as explanation of very narrow laser width and analytical solution of the elastic Boltzmann transport equation. Lax's critical viewpoint on mathematics currently used in the financial world is also presented in this book.

This book consists of a series of new, peer-reviewed papers in stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control, with particular emphasis on mathematical finance, actuarial science and engineering. Paper contributors include colleagues, collaborators and former students of Robert Elliott, many of whom are world-leading experts and have made fundamental and significant contributions to these areas. This book provides new important insights and results by eminent researchers in the considered areas, which will be of interest to researchers and practitioners. The topics considered will be diverse in applications, and will provide contemporary approaches to the problems considered. The areas considered are rapidly evolving. This volume will contribute to their development, and present the current state-of-the-art stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control. Contributing authors include: H Albrecher, T Bielecki, F Dufour, M Jeanblanc, I Karatzas, H-H Kuo, A Melnikov, E Platen, G Yin, Q Zhang, C Chiarella, W Fleming, D Madan, R Mamon, J Yan, V Krishnamurthy. Contents:Stochastic Analysis:On the Connection Between Discrete and Continuous Wick Calculus with an Application to the Fractional Black-Scholes Model (C Bender and P Parczewski)Malliavin Differentiability of a Class of Feller-Diffusions with Relevance in Finance (C-O Ewald, Y Xiao, Y Zou and T K Siu)A Stochastic Integral for Adapted and Instantly Independent Stochastic Processes (H-H Kuo, A Sae-Tang and B Szozda)Independence of Some Multiple Poisson Stochastic Integrals with Variable-Sign Kernels (N Privault)Differential and Stochastic Games:Strategies for Differential Games (W H Fleming and D Hernández-Hernández)BSDE Approach to Non-Zero-Sum Stochastic Differential Games of Control and Stopping (I Karatzas and Q Li)Mathematical Finance:On Optimal Dividend Strategies in Insurance with a Random Time Horizon (H Albrecher and S Thonhauser)Counterparty Risk and the Impact of Collateralization in CDS Contracts (T R Bielecki, I Cialenco and I Iyigunler)A Modern View on Merton's Jump-Diffusion Model (G H L Cheang and C Chiarella)Hedging Portfolio Loss Derivatives with CDS's (A Cousin and M Jeanblanc)New Analytic Approximations for Pricing Spread Options (J van der Hoek and M W Korolkiewicz)On the Polynomial–Normal Model and Option Pricing (H Li and A Melnikov)A Functional Transformation Approach to Interest Rate Modelling(S Luo, J Yan and Q Zhang)S&P 500 Index Option Surface Drivers and Their Risk Neutral and Real World Quadratic Covariations (D B Madan)A Dynamic Portfolio Approach to Asset Markets and Monetary Policy (E Platen and W Semmler)Mean-Variance Portfolio Selection Under Regime-Switching Diffusion Asset Models: A Two-Time-Scale Limit (G Yin and Y Talafha)Filtering and Control:Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions for a Partially Observed Stochastic Control Problem (A Bensoussan, M Çakanyildirim, M Li and S P Sethi)Continuous Control of Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes with Long Run Average Cost (O L V Costa and F Dufour)Stochastic Linear-Quadratic Control Revisited (T E Duncan)Optimization of Stochastic Uncertain Systems: Entropy Rate Functionals, Minimax Games and Robustness (F Rezaei, C D Charalambous and N U Ahmed)Gradient Based Policy Optimization of Constrained Markov Decision Processes (V Krishnamurthy and F J Vázquez Abad)Parameter Estimation of a Regime-Switching Model Using an Inverse Stieltjes Moment Approach (X Xi, M R Rodrigo and R S Mamon)An Optimal Inventory-Price Coordination Policy (H Zhang and Q Zhang) Readership: Researchers and professionals in stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control. Keywords:Stochastic Processes;Filtering;Stochastic Control;Stochastic Analysis;Mathematical Finance;Actuarial Sciences;EngineeringKey Features:This is a festschrift of Professor Robert J Elliott, who is a world leader in the areas of stochastic processes, filtering, control as well as their applicationsIncludes contributions of many world-leading scholars in the fieldsContain many original and fundamental results in the fields rare in competing titles