The explicit Bernoulli stochastic differential equation solution remains positive and finite on every finite interval when . For it diverges when the displayed integral reaches its threshold. At this occurs deterministically. At , Brownian motion has positive probability of making the integral exceed any threshold on a fixed interval, so global existence is not almost sure. The distinction between positive explosion probability and certain explosion matters: the negative linear drift of makes its total positive-power exponential integral finite almost surely when .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 30 4 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Set , a positive stochastic exponential with . The Itô formula givesFor , the Itô product rule and cancel both the Brownian terms and the extra drift. ConsequentlyThis is an ordinary Bernoulli differential equation with continuous random coefficients. For , separate variables to obtainTherefore the Bernoulli stochastic differential equation has the explicit maximal positive solutionvalid while its bracket remains strictly positive. When , the reduced equation is , andSubstituting these expressions back through the product rule verifies the original stochastic differential equation, not just the reduced equation.