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Work on a filtered probability space with the usual conditions for a filtration. A continuous martingale belongs to the class of L2-bounded continuous martingales whenThis means a uniform bound over the entire time interval, not merely being square-integrable at each individual time. The L2 martingale convergence theorem gives a terminal variable $M_{\infty }$ and almost sure convergence and convergence in the Lebesgue space $L^2$; moreover $M_t=\mathbb{E}[M_{\infty }\mid {\mathcal{F}}_t]$ by conditional expectation.

The predictable sigma-algebra $\mathcal{P}$ on $\Omega \times [0,\infty )$ is the smallest sigma-algebra making every left-continuous adapted process measurable. Equivalently, it is generated bywhere the sample coordinate comes first. A previsible process is precisely a process measurable for this predictable sigma-algebra. Values at time zero matter for its definition, although they make no contribution to integration against a continuous quadratic variation starting at zero.

Specify an initial value or initial probability distribution. A strong solution of a stochastic differential equation uses a prescribed Brownian motion on a prescribed filtered probability space. It is continuous, adapted to the completed filtration generated by that Brownian motion and the initial value, and satisfiesalmost surely for every $t$, with ${\int }_0^t(|b(X_s)|+\sigma (X_s{)}^2)ds<\infty$ almost surely. The given initial variable is independent of future Brownian motion increments. Some courses allow a larger prescribed filtration in their definition of a strong solution of a stochastic differential equation; the Brownian-generated convention states explicitly what absence of extra randomness means.

A weak solution of a stochastic differential equation consists of a filtered probability space, a Brownian motion relative to its filtration, and a continuous adapted process $X$ satisfying the same integrability and integral equation. Here the space and noise are part of the unknown; the filtration may contain randomness beyond the initial variable and the driving path.

Pathwise uniqueness means that on any common filtered probability space, any two solutions with the same driving Brownian motion and the same initial value are indistinguishable. Uniqueness in law means that all weak solutions with the same initial probability distribution have the same law as path-valued random variables, even on different spaces. Pathwise uniqueness compares shared-noise paths; uniqueness in law compares path distributions. Neither uniqueness notion by itself asserts existence.

Let $X,Y$ be two continuous solutions on the same filtered probability space, driven by the same Brownian motion and with $X_0=Y_0$ almost surely. Write $D=X-Y$ and choose a common Lipschitz constant $L$ for $b,\sigma$. Introduce the stopping time ${\tau }_n=\inf \{t\ge 0:|X_t|+|Y_t|\ge n\}$. On $\{{\tau }_n=0\}$ the stopped difference is zero; before ${\tau }_n$, both coefficients and the difference are bounded.

The Itô formula and the zero expectation of the stopped square-integrable Itô integral yieldThe Gronwall inequality implies $\mathbb{E}{D}_{t\wedge {\tau }_n}^2=0$. Continuous solution paths are bounded on each compact time interval, so ${\tau }_n\uparrow \infty$ almost surely. Letting $n\to \infty$ proves $X_t=Y_t$ almost surely at each fixed time, and a countable dense set of times together with continuity gives indistinguishability of stochastic processes. Therefore the stochastic differential equation has pathwise uniqueness.