For the bounded rate diffusion of linear bond pricing in a bounded short-rate diffusion, is a bounded martingale with terminal value . Dividing its conditional expectation by through the Bayes formula for conditional expectation gives the displayed forward-measure expectation. It lies between zero and one.
For bounded predictable on , the stochastic exponential is a positive martingale by the Novikov condition. Under , the Bayes formula for conditional expectation gives
Indeed, the square-root stock ratio is . This exact identity gives the bounds on square-root stock implied volatility by bounding integrated variance pathwise. The Girsanov theorem gives . The measure is an auxiliary pricing identity for this payoff, not a claim that it is an equivalent martingale measure for the original stock.
Denote the density process by . The given identities for all imply
Thus is a strictly positive true martingale, not merely a local martingale. The Itô formula gives , and hence
First work with the zero-starting corrected increments . Integration by parts gives
The finite-variation bracket has zero quadratic covariation with , so no other term appears. Thus is a P-local martingale.
To justify the change of measure, stop at , with optional further localization if needed. The product remains a P-local martingale: before the stopping time the cancellation above applies, and afterwards only its bounded constant factor multiplies . Its absolute value is bounded by . On a finite horizon the stopped values of are uniformly integrable, so Q1(c) upgrades this product to a true martingale. The Bayes formula for conditional expectation now gives
Finite-horizon equivalence of the measures transfers the localizing sequence to Q. Therefore is a continuous Q-local martingale. If , adding its constant-in-time process proves
This proves the Girsanov theorem assertion under the usual zero or deterministic initial-value convention. More generally the normalization makes , so P and Q agree on and the required initial integrability is automatic.
There is a literal initial-integrability qualification if neither convention is imposed. On positive integers let , , with , and let every filtration equal the full sigma-algebra. Constant processes and are P-martingales, and is precisely the prescribed density. But and , so the asserted Q-local martingale cannot have an integrable initial value. This is why initial integrability under a density change is part of the precise formulation.
A useful finite-horizon form of the Girsanov theorem is as follows. Let be a Brownian motion and an adapted, progressively measurable process with almost surely. Suppose its stochastic exponential
is a true martingale with mean one. The Novikov condition is a sufficient condition. Under the equivalent probability measure , the process is a Brownian motion.
For the proof sketch, the Itô formula gives . Integration by parts cancels the drift in , since from cancels . After localization, the Bayes formula for conditional expectation makes a continuous local martingale under . Its quadratic variation is still , because adding a finite-variation process does not change quadratic variation. One can see the Brownian conclusion directly: for real , the Itô formula makes a local martingale. Its modulus is bounded on the fixed horizon, so it is a true martingale. Thus
This is the conditional characteristic function of a centered normal distribution with variance , independent of the past. Continuity and these independent normal increments give the defining properties of Brownian motion.
Now put and , the standard normal distribution function. At zero drift the endpoint density of paths staying below is
Indeed, reflect the portion of a path after its first hitting time of . By continuity and the independent symmetric Brownian motion increments after this stopping time, reflection preserves its probability law and maps a crossing path ending at to a path ending at . This subtracts exactly from the unrestricted endpoint density; it is the Brownian reflection principle.
Taking the constant drift tilt in the Girsanov theorem makes under have the same law as under . Therefore the desired finite-horizon maximum of Brownian motion with drift has probability
Completing squares gives and . Hence
The maximum has no atom at a positive level, so strict and weak barrier inequalities agree. This also follows from continuity of the displayed distribution function. At the formula reduces to .
For the up-and-out power claim, write and use the risk-neutral measure for the Black-Scholes model, under which
with . The barrier survives exactly when . Its risk-neutral pricing value is
The factor inside the expectation is a mean-one Exponential martingale for Brownian motion. Under the probability tilted by it, is a Brownian motion, so the barrier process has drift . Applying the preceding survival formula yields
As , the bracket tends to one and the price becomes the discounted second moment . As , it tends to zero. If , use the deterministic path instead: the price is when , and zero otherwise. At , with , the price is simply .
Fix the horizon and define the half-volatility measure for a square-root stock claim by
The Novikov condition makes a true martingale with , and makes equivalent to . The Girsanov theorem identifies as a Brownian motion under .
The exact factorization from the previous part is
Using the Bayes formula for conditional expectation therefore gives
The random integrated variance need not have any independence property under . Its pathwise bounds still imply . Inverting the same price function proves even for volatility adapted to the Brownian motion, on the positive-price event. The zero-price convention is as above. The auxiliary measure here is not asserted to be an equivalent martingale measure for the stock.
Construct the strictly positive rolling one-period bond account using successive one-period zero-coupon bonds:
At time , invest the entire account value in the bond maturing at . This gives a positive self-financing portfolio usable as a numéraire.
We use the finite-discrete-time fundamental theorem of asset pricing: in a frictionless market with finitely many adapted assets and trading dates, no arbitrage is equivalent to existence of an equivalent martingale measure for asset prices, including dividends, expressed in a positive traded numéraire. Maturing bond payoffs are reinvested in that numéraire. Let be such a measure and its positive density process. The martingale pricing relation for a unit zero-coupon bond is
Define . The Bayes formula for conditional expectation then gives
The positive expectations are finite because these are the traded finite bond prices; in particular when initial information is trivial. Normalize without changing any ratio. With nontrivial initial information the same identities are conditional on that information. The state-price density need not be unique when the bond market is incomplete; existence is sufficient.
Since the density martingale is uniformly integrable, . Equivalence of measures, as stipulated, means almost surely. Write for the stochastic logarithm. The Itô formula gives , and hence the quadratic covariation in the drift correction is
It involves the local-martingale part of ; its continuous finite-variation part has zero covariation.
With , the Itô product rule now gives an exact cancellation:
Thus is a P-local martingale. To transfer this conclusion rigorously, set . The same computation for the stopped gives
This is again a P-local martingale. Moreover its absolute value is at most . Uniform integrability of makes the family over bounded stopping times uniformly integrable, so the product is a true martingale. This is the bounded-process density-product criterion.
The Bayes formula for conditional expectation therefore gives, for ,
Continuity gives , proving is a Q-local martingale. This proves the needed Girsanov theorem rather than invoking it.
For the Brownian-filtration conclusion, use this precise Brownian martingale representation theorem: every continuous local martingale in the usual augmentation of the natural Brownian filtration is an Itô integral with a predictable integrand locally square integrable in time. In particular
Define
On each finite horizon a strictly positive continuous has a positive pathwise minimum. Thus almost surely, and
The already proved measure-change result makes a continuous Q-local martingale. Its quadratic variation is , unchanged by its finite-variation correction. The Lévy characterization of Brownian motion proves
No additional exponential-integrability condition is needed, since the equivalent uniformly integrable density process is already given.
The terminal density is strictly positive and has expectation one under the usual deterministic initial bond-price convention. Its density process is
For , the Bayes formula for conditional expectation under a change of measure gives
The same calculation at gives the finite expectation , so this is a true martingale, not just a formal conditional identity. Thus the continuous-time bank account measured in units of the maturity- bond is a -martingale. This is the forward measure change of numéraire. If the initial bond price were random rather than given, integrability of its reciprocal would need to be included for this true-martingale assertion.
Use the same affine drift cancellation with terminal conditions , . It gives , , so
The process is bounded, which justifies the conditional expectation identity. The Bayes formula for conditional expectation for the forward measure now gives
The denominator is positive; the ratio lies in and equals at maturity. This is the forward-measure terminal rate in a linear bond model.
Since and is uniformly integrable, the continuous local martingale is locally in Doob's class and hence is a true martingale. For and , Bayes formula for conditional expectation gives
The bounded process is integrable under , so this is exactly the martingale property.