First take a bounded elementary predictable process , with each bounded and -measurable and with finite time support. The Itô integral is the corresponding finite sum . Applying part (a) term by term gives
Such elementary predictable processes are dense among predictable processes in . The Itô isometry makes the left functional continuous, with bound
The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality makes the right functional continuous, with bound . Approximation therefore proves the same identity for every allowed predictable . The integral over the infinite time interval is the limit of its finite-horizon Itô integrals.
Multiply the representation in part (c) by and take expectations. This Itô integral has mean zero, and the bilinear form of the Itô isometry gives
Equating this with part (b), and writing both ordinary integrals with the same time variable, yields
All terms are integrable by the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, the assumed square integrability of , and boundedness of . This is an orthogonality statement against predictable processes; its second term need not itself be predictable.
For a finite list of real coefficients ,
A deterministic Itô integral is centered Gaussian: first verify it for step functions as a linear combination of independent Gaussian Brownian increments, then pass to an L2 approximation using the Itô isometry and characteristic functions. Its variance is the squared L2 norm of the integrand, which is by the supplied orthonormality. Therefore
This factors as the joint characteristic function of independent standard normals. Since every finite subfamily has this law, the entire sequence is independent and each has law N(0,1). This is the Gaussian coordinates of deterministic orthonormal Wiener integrands principle.
Multiply the linear stochastic differential equation by . The Itô product rule gives
The integrand is deterministic, so the Itô integral has a centered normal distribution. Its variance, by the Itô isometry, is
Hence
At the correct continuous-limit formula is . A zero variance, for example when , denotes the deterministic distribution. For the variance is still positive because both numerator and denominator in its quotient are negative. This is the explicit Ornstein-Uhlenbeck solution, allowing either sign of the linear drift coefficient.
Write and . Substituting into part (a), without prematurely replacing by its linear part, gives
Taking the expectation yields the exact mean equation within the paraxial approximation:
The correlation term cannot be discarded just because : the field depends on the same random medium as . Nor can be factored exactly from the given variance alone. The printed statistics do not specify the autocorrelation function of a random field, so they do not determine a unique local closed equation for .
A useful covariance-dependent equation follows to second order in . Define
and let
be the Fresnel propagator kernel for one transverse coordinate. The Duhamel principle applied to the linear fluctuation term gives
where . Multiply by and average. Also . Since , replacing by in terms already multiplied by preserves second-order accuracy. We obtain the weak-fluctuation memory equation for the coherent field
This perturbation statement is for fixed propagation intervals with sufficient covariance regularity and moment bounds. The kernel is understood as an oscillatory integral. If the field is jointly Gaussian, odd perturbative contributions vanish and the remainder can be improved under the corresponding expansion hypotheses. Joint Gaussianity itself still leaves the covariance unspecified. The term is the quadratic refractive-index shift in the coherent field; it comes from the mean of .
For the usual local answer, impose the additional Markov approximation for a random medium. Its longitudinal correlation length must be much shorter than the distance on which the envelope varies, and diffraction across that correlation distance must not resolve substantial transverse covariance variation. Away from the entry layer, replace the slowly varying factors in the memory integral by their local values and extend the longitudinal integral to infinity. Define the integrated covariance
For an integrable real stationary covariance, is even, and is its zero-longitudinal-frequency spectral density. The conventional leading weak-index model keeps only the linear random potential ; in that model the local first-moment equation is
The factor can be checked independently in the white-noise model. If is a Brownian field with , write
Converting the Stratonovich integral to an Itô integral adds . The remaining stochastic integral has zero mean, giving the boxed equation and
If the finite-correlation model retains consistently through order , the local second-order expansion also has , adding the phase factor . This phase is computed before the white-noise idealization: squaring ideal Gaussian white noise is not the finite-variance operation .
The need for a correlation assumption can be seen without any closure argument. The stationary Gaussian random field , with a single standard normal variable , has all the printed one-point statistics. In the linear weak-index model it gives
Its attenuation is quadratic in propagation distance, whereas the Markov model gives linear-distance exponential attenuation. The local attenuation equation requires the additional correlation/Markov assumption; it does not follow from statistical homogeneity and unit variance alone.
A weak solution of a stochastic differential equation consists of a filtered probability space, an adapted continuous process , and a Brownian motion relative to that filtration, with specified initial distribution, such that for every finite the coefficient integrals are finite and
In one dimension the integrability conditions are and . The noise integral is the Itô integral. A solution on a prescribed stochastic basis with prescribed is distinguished from this weak construction.
A strong solution of a stochastic differential equation uses the prescribed and initial variable, and is adapted to their augmented natural filtration; thus no additional randomness is needed. For deterministic , each is determined by the driving Brownian motion through time . Merely being adapted to a larger filtration is insufficient for this definition.
Uniqueness in law means that any two weak stochastic solutions with the same initial distribution have the same law of on continuous path space. Pathwise uniqueness means that two solutions on one stochastic basis, with the same and almost surely equal initial values, are indistinguishable stochastic processes. The latter compares paths under the same noise, rather than just comparing their probability distributions.
Fix and a finite horizon . Begin under Wiener measure with , and let bound . The bounded progressively measurable process is an admissible Itô integral integrand. Put
The Novikov condition follows from . With , the Girsanov theorem says that is Brownian motion. Therefore a weak stochastic solution exists, since
Consistent finite-horizon densities on canonical continuous path space give a solution for all finite times. No uniform integrability at infinite time is needed for this extension.
For uniqueness in law, take any weak stochastic solution under a measure and reverse the change of measure:
Again the Novikov condition holds. Under , is Brownian motion, so the law of is the fixed shifted Wiener measure. Substitution of gives
Under shifted Wiener measure, the stochastic integral on the right has a fixed measurable version as a functional of the canonical path. It can be defined by simple predictable processes converging in the integrand norm and an almost surely convergent subsequence of their integrals. Equivalence of the two finite-horizon measures preserves that version. Thus for every bounded measurable path functional ,
The right-hand side depends only on , not on the chosen solution. This proves uniqueness in law on every finite horizon, and hence on the whole continuous path space. This is Weak existence and uniqueness in law for an additive-noise SDE with bounded drift. For merely measurable , one should not assume that naive deterministic left-endpoint samples of converge; the predictable approximation is the appropriate definition.
Put , , and . The deterministic integrand in the Itô integral implies that the increments are independent random variables with normal distributions . The Gaussian fourth moment gives
These identities include . Since the summands of are centered and independent, all cross terms in its second moment vanish. Consequently,
Thus works for every observation partition. The last step uses the total interval length, rather than assuming equally spaced observations.
Since , part (b) shows that the density process of the T-forward measure is
Its terminal expectation is one and it is strictly positive, so the stated Radon-Nikodym derivative defines an equivalent probability measure. By the Girsanov theorem,
is a Brownian motion under . Substitution of cancels the entire instantaneous forward rate drift:
Because the integrand is deterministic and bounded, its Itô integral is square-integrable on . With the usual fixed initial instantaneous forward rate curve, the requested true martingale is
Apply the Itô formula to . The backward equation cancels its drift, leaving
Bounded and make this Itô integral square-integrable on the finite horizon; in addition itself is bounded. Hence is a true martingale, not just a local martingale, and . Taking conditional expectations gives
The stock is understood to be adapted to the stated Brownian filtration, with its initial value fixed there. This is the Feynman-Kac formula in the zero-potential, zero-drift case.
Differentiate the backward equation for with respect to the stock state, and put . The product derivative of is , giving
The assumed smoothness and bounded derivatives put in the uniqueness class for the equation defining . Therefore , and is the option delta. Substituting in the Itô integral from part (a) and using gives the self-financing representation
The boundedness hypotheses justify both stochastic integrals. This derivation does not divide by and remains valid even at states with zero diffusion amplitude.
A simple predictable process has the form , where are deterministic and is bounded and -measurable. A possible -measurable value at zero is irrelevant to this Itô integral. Define
Each coefficient is known before the corresponding increment. The conditional expectation of each subsequent increment is zero, so the result is a continuous martingale starting at zero. It is an L2-bounded continuous martingale because it is a finite sum of bounded coefficients times stopped increments of an L2-bounded continuous martingale. This definition is independent of the chosen subdivision: splitting an interval simply splits its increment into a telescoping sum. General admissible predictable processes are then integrated by completion using the Itô isometry; unbounded step coefficients are allowed when the weighted condition in the quadratic-variation measure in the next part holds.
For continuous semimartingales, the Stratonovich integral adds half the quadratic covariation to the Itô integral:
One can see the factor directly from symmetric endpoint sums. On a partition of an interval, replacing at the left endpoint by the average of its two endpoint values adds ; its limit is . Thus the correction depends only on the continuous local martingale parts of the semimartingales. If either integrator or integrand has finite variation, the quadratic covariation vanishes and these two integrals coincide. Here the printed notation denotes Stratonovich integral integration, equivalently .
The Tanaka equation is an example:
It has weak solutions and uniqueness in law, but lacks pathwise uniqueness. The value is deliberate: using the sign function with value zero at zero would admit the identically zero solution and would change the example.
For a quick verification, take a Brownian motion and put . Its quadratic variation is , so it is a Brownian motion by the Lévy characterization of Brownian motion, and associativity of stochastic integration gives . Every weak solution likewise has quadratic variation and therefore the law of Brownian motion. On this same enlarged filtration, both and solve the equation driven by : away from zero, and the Brownian zero set has zero time measure, so the discrepancy at zero contributes nothing to the Itô integral. These solutions differ with positive probability at any positive time. This proves the claimed distinction without relying on a choice of zero convention left unstated.
The printed assumptions omit the orthogonality needed for the claimed local martingales. Merely placing two Brownian motions on the same probability space does not make them independent. Interpret both as Brownian motions relative to a common filtration, and put . For and , the two-variable Itô formula gives
The pure second derivatives cancel because , while the mixed partial derivatives are and . Thus the mixed quadratic covariation term cannot be omitted.
For a counterexample allowed by the PDF, take . Then and has drift , while has drift . In particular makes the latter drift nonzero near zero, so is not a local martingale. Nor is : cannot be identically zero, so its accumulated continuous drift is not identically zero. Uniqueness of the continuous semimartingale decomposition excludes cancellation by another local martingale term.
The corrected hypothesis is , for example independent Brownian motions in their joint filtration. Conversely, if both were local martingales, uniqueness of the continuous semimartingale decomposition would force ; since , this forces . Thus the correction is exactly the condition needed for both local martingales. Under this hypothesis the drift terms vanish and the intended stochastic differential equations are and . The continuous integrands are locally bounded, so localization makes these Itô integrals continuous local martingales. Subsequent intended conclusions are proved under this explicitly stated correction.
A locally defined stochastic process is a pair , where is a lifetime stopping time and is defined for , that is, on a stochastic interval. For continuous local problems one uses stopping times with on , so the process stopped at each has an ordinary continuous adapted process version. This is an announcing sequence for a stopping time; no value at or after is implicit in the pair.
A local solution of a stochastic differential equation on an open domain takes its values in before and, on every such stopped interval, satisfies
with the local integrability needed for the ordinary and Itô integrals. A maximal local solution of a stochastic differential equation has no extension to a strictly later lifetime that agrees with it before . For locally Lipschitz continuous coefficients on , take a nested compact exhaustion of and the successive exit times: their increasing limit is the maximal lifetime, and on the solution eventually leaves every compact subset of . To obtain the announcing sequence with finite stops even when the path never exits a compact set, cap these exit times by ; the capped times still increase to the maximal lifetime. Thus a finite maximal lifetime means exit from the domain or explosion; it need not mean divergence to infinity. For , reaching the boundary zero terminates the local solution even if an absorbing extension could be defined for a different domain.
With periodic or sufficiently decaying boundary conditions, integration by parts gives
Assume for a stable quadratic free energy; the diffusive smoothing discussed below requires . In a periodic box of volume , use the unitary convention . A real field has . Since the Fourier transform of a derivative converts to , each Fourier mode obeys
It is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Multiplication by the integrating factor gives
The noise integral is understood as an Itô integral with a deterministic kernel; writing is shorthand for the corresponding Wiener increment. Direct differentiation in the mild stochastic sense checks both the equation and the initial value. The stated Kronecker-delta noise covariance corresponds to this finite-volume normalization. Unlike a conserved order parameter, the zero wavenumber mode decays at the nonzero rate .
For deterministic step functions, define directly from Brownian motion increments
with the left endpoint of the first interval and outside the listed intervals. The printed endpoint list omits ; the intended convention is , usually .
Given finitely many observation times, refine the deterministic partition of an interval to include all observation times and all . Every is a linear combination of the same finite family of independent centered normal Brownian motion increments. Thus every linear combination of is normal, including possibly a degenerate constant: is a Gaussian process. By independence, only increments in the common interval contribute to the covariance, giving
The same calculation for two step functions proves, rather than assumes, the Itô isometry
For , choose deterministic step functions in the L2 space. This identity makes a Cauchy sequence in the L2 space; the Riesz-Fischer theorem defines by mean-square convergence, independently of the approximation. The covariance formula passes to the limit by the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. For finitely many times and coefficients , the characteristic functions converge to
so the extension remains a Gaussian process.
For completeness, the construction has a continuous version. Each approximating is a martingale, directly by the centered independent increments of Brownian motion; the Doob L2 maximal inequality gives
To prove the inequality used here without assuming Itô integral properties, a continuous martingale satisfies , by conditioning at the first crossing on finite deterministic grids and then using continuity; integrating in and using the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality yields . A sufficiently fast subsequence therefore converges uniformly almost surely on every compact time interval, giving the continuous version of the stochastic integral.
The Itô formula applied to gives exact cancellation of the drift:
On every finite interval , the Itô integral is square-integrable since . Therefore is a true martingale, and hence a local martingale.
For the other stochastic process, . If were a local martingale, its difference with would make the continuous finite-variation process a local martingale, contradicting the fact that a continuous finite-variation local martingale is constant. Also is not constant. Thus is neither a local martingale nor a martingale.
Multiplication by the integrating factor and the Itô product rule give the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process
The two summands are independent centered normal random variables, because is independent of the Brownian motion and the integrand is deterministic. By the Itô isometry, their variances sum to . Thus
For , split the Itô integral at to obtain , where the latter term is centered and independent of . Consequently
In particular this initialization makes the Gaussian process a stationary process.