Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/ii/paper-3/29j/i/solution

A standard Brownian motion starts at zero, has continuous sample paths and independent increments, with for .
Assume and ; changing the sign of just changes the sign of Brownian motion. Itô formula gives . In the complete Black-Scholes model, the risk-neutral pricing theorem prices an integrable payoff by , where the discounted asset is a martingale. Girsanov theorem therefore replaces the logarithmic drift by :
Let and . The exercise event is . Completing the square in the Gaussian integral yields
Consequently and . Thus the European call option price is
The physical drift disappears because the price is obtained under the martingale measure. If in an arbitrage-free deterministic model, and the formula is interpreted by its zero-volatility limit.

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