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For an L2-bounded continuous martingale and ordered possibly infinite stopping times $\sigma \le \tau$, interpret the terminal stopped value as $M_{\infty }$. The Doob L2 maximal inequality bounds the expected squared path supremum. Localization of $M^2-[M]$ then gives $\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }<\infty$, so this square-minus-bracket local martingale has integrable supremum and is uniformly integrable. Apply the optional stopping theorem to it and to $M$. Expanding $(M_{\tau }-M_{\sigma }{)}^2$ makes the cross term vanish conditionally, proving the identity. Bounded ${\mathcal{F}}_{\sigma }$-measurable factors can be multiplied into either side.

For a L2-bounded continuous martingale, the terminal and maximal norms satisfyThe first inequality follows from almost sure convergence. Apply the Doob L2 maximal inequality on $[0,T]$ and then the monotone convergence theorem as $T\to \infty$ for the second. These are equivalent norms on the space modulo indistinguishability of stochastic processes; neither inequality needs a zero initial value.

For a continuous local martingale starting at zero, finite expected terminal quadratic variation is equivalent to being an L2-bounded continuous martingale. Stop at bounded path and bracket levels and use $\mathbb{E}(M_t^{\tau }{)}^2=\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{t\wedge \tau }$. Uniform integrability removes the localization; Doob L2 maximal inequality justifies convergence of squares. The terminal identity is $\mathbb{E}{M}_{\infty }^2=\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }$. For nonzero initial values one must additionally assume $M_0\in L^2$.

A simple predictable process can be writtenwhere each ${\xi }_j$ is bounded and ${\mathcal{F}}_{t_j}$-measurable. Define its integral to start at zero:Refining the partition leaves this sum unchanged. Every summand is a martingale, by conditioning its future increment on the information at $t_j$. Bounded coefficients and the $L^2$ bound on $M$ make the integral an L2-bounded continuous martingale. Its terminal value is the same sum with $M_{\infty }$ substituted at any infinite endpoint; $L^2$ martingale convergence supplies this limit.

We need the conditional square identity, rather than assuming independent increments. The Doob L2 maximal inequality gives $\mathbb{E}{\sup }_t|M_t{|}^2<\infty$. Localize the square identity for $M^2-[M]$ at level and bracket stopping times. The stopped identity and this maximal bound give $\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }<\infty$ by monotone convergence. Nowis integrable, so localization passes to conditional expectations and $M^2-[M]$ is a uniformly integrable martingale. Expanding a squared increment and using $\mathbb{E}(M_t\mid {\mathcal{F}}_s)=M_s$ provesThe infinite endpoint follows from $L^2$ convergence and integrability of the bracket. The initial value $M_0$ need not be zero: the integral itself is zero-starting.

In the square of the terminal integral, all cross terms vanish. For $j<k$, the $j$th increment and both coefficients in its cross term are measurable at $t_k$, whereas the conditional mean of the $k$th increment there is zero. For the diagonal terms, the preceding conditional identity can be multiplied by the bounded ${\xi }_j^2$. ThereforeThis proves the Itô isometry for these simple integrands. Ordered stopping-time intervals also work, replacing the conditional identity by optional stopping theorem, but deterministic intervals suffice for the approximation requested here.

For that approximation, put $\mu (A)=\mathbb{E}{\int }_0^1{1}_A(\omega ,s)ds$ on the predictable sigma-algebra. This is a finite measure. That sigma-algebra is generated, apart from the zero-time slice of measure zero, by rectangles $A\times (s,t]$ with $A\in {\mathcal{F}}_s$. The indicator of every such rectangle is a bounded simple predictable process.

Here is a density proof. Let $V$ be the closed linear span of these indicators in $L^2(\mu )$, and let $\mathcal{D}$ contain the predictable sets whose indicators belong to $V$. The whole space belongs to $\mathcal{D}$; complements stay in $\mathcal{D}$; and disjoint countable unions do also, because their finite partial indicator sums converge in $L^2$ under the finite measure. Thus $\mathcal{D}$ is a Dynkin system containing the generating rectangle pi-system. The Pi-lambda theorem makes it the entire predictable sigma-algebra. Bounded predictable simple functions therefore belong to $V$. Truncating any $L^2(\mu )$ function and then approximating its truncated range by finitely many levels shows that every such function belongs to $V$. A finite sum of rectangle indicators can be rewritten on one common deterministic time partition, with the coefficient on each interval measurable at its left endpoint; it is exactly an allowed simple process.

Consequently choose $H^n$ of this form with $\Vert H^n-H{\Vert }_{L^2(\mu )}<1/n$. This provesIt is density of simple predictable processes for finite measures, with a proof of the actual approximation step.

Finally apply the preceding isometry to $M_t=B_{t\wedge 1}$, whose bracket is $t\wedge 1$. The elementary integrals $I_n={\int }_0^1{H}_s^{n}d{B}_s$ satisfyDefine the Itô integral as the $L^2$ limit of these elementary integrals. The same identity shows independence of the approximating sequence, linearity, mean zero, and $\mathbb{E}({\int }_0^1{H}_{s}d{B}_s{)}^2=\mathbb{E}{\int }_0^1{H}_s^{2}ds$. Applying the Doob inequality to the difference processes also gives uniform-in-time $L^2$ convergence on $[0,1]$, with a continuous martingale version of the integral.

For a stopping time $T\ge s$, the optional sampling theorem for the L2-bounded continuous martingale $M$ gives $\mathbb{E}[M_T\mid {\mathcal{F}}_s]=M_s$. ConsequentlyIf $N_s$ is unbounded, first multiply by a bounded truncation and then remove it using $L^2$ bounds and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Thus (ii) implies (iv). Taking $T=s$ proves the converse. For $T=\infty$, the same calculation uses the $L^2$ terminal value.

Use the standard global convention that ${\mathcal{M}}_c^2$ consists of L2-bounded continuous martingales, here starting at zero. This matters for arbitrary unbounded stopping times in part (iv); square-integrability at each separate deterministic time alone is weaker. Such martingales have terminal $L^2$ limits and satisfy the optional sampling theorem at arbitrary finite stopping times. Infinite stopping times can also be included by evaluating at the terminal limit. The weakly orthogonal continuous martingales condition compares cross-time expectations. The following four parts prove its equivalence with the equal-time, bracket-mean and forward-stopping tests.

Take a standard Brownian motion $B$ and defineThe Itô formula gives $N_t=2{\int }_0^{t\wedge 1}{B}_{s}d{B}_s$, so both are continuous martingales starting at zero. Their second moments are $\mathbb{E}{M}_t^2=t\wedge 1$ and $\mathbb{E}{N}_t^2=2(t\wedge 1{)}^2$, making them L2-bounded continuous martingales. At equal times, the odd moments of a centered normal random variable vanish, soThey are consequently weakly orthogonal continuous martingales by solution.

Their product, for $t<1$, is $B_t^3-t{B}_t$. The Itô formula givesThe continuous finite-variation term $2{\int }_0^t{B}_{s}ds$ is not identically zero: it has variance $4t^3/3$ at every $t>0$. Uniqueness of the continuous semimartingale decomposition therefore shows that $MN$ is not even a local martingale. Equivalently $[M,N{]}_t=2{\int }_0^{t\wedge 1}{B}_{s}ds$ is not zero, so the pair is not orthogonal continuous local martingales.

The previsible sigma-algebra $\mathcal{P}$ on $\Omega \times [0,\infty )$ is generated by left-continuous adapted processes. Equivalently it is generated by $A\times \{0\}$ with $A\in {\mathcal{F}}_0$ and $A\times (s,t]$ with $A\in {\mathcal{F}}_s$, $0\le s<t$. A previsible process is a process measurable for this sigma-algebra; predictable is a synonym.

Use the zero-starting convention for ${\mathcal{M}}_c^2$: continuous martingales with $M_0=0$ and ${\sup }_t\mathbb{E}{M}_t^2<\infty$. For such an L2-bounded continuous martingale, the square-integrable stochastic integrand space isIdentify processes that agree almost everywhere for the quadratic-variation measure ${\nu }_M(d\omega ,ds)=\mathbb{P}(d\omega )d[M{]}_s$. This makes the displayed norm an actual Hilbert-space norm on equivalence classes. On a fixed horizon $[0,T]$, replace infinity by $T$; this is the same construction for continuous martingales square-integrable on that horizon. Nonzero initial values may be subtracted because the integral depends only on increments.

Work first with $M_0=0$. More generally, the assertion needs $M_0\in L^2$ and then applies to $M-M_0$. Without this assumption, an integrable but non-square-integrable initial random variable kept constant in time has zero quadratic variation but is not bounded in L2 space.

Choose increasing stopping timesThey tend to infinity almost surely, because the continuous path and its quadratic variation are finite on every compact time interval. The stopped process is a bounded martingale, and $M_{t\wedge {\tau }_n}^2-[M{]}_{t\wedge {\tau }_n}$ is bounded and a local martingale. Taking expectations givesSuppose $C=\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }<\infty$. These squared expectations are at most $C$. For each fixed $t$, the stopped values converge almost surely to $M_t$ and are uniformly integrable, since they are uniformly bounded in L2 space. They therefore converge in $L^1$. Passing in the stopped conditional-expectation identity, using contraction of conditional expectation in $L^1$, gives $\mathbb{E}(M_t\mid {\mathcal{F}}_s)=M_s$ for $s\le t$. Thus $M$ is a true martingale. The Fatou lemma gives $\mathbb{E}{M}_t^2\le C$, uniformly in $t$, so it is an L2-bounded continuous martingale.

Conversely, suppose $M$ is a true martingale with ${\sup }_t\mathbb{E}{M}_t^2\le C$. For fixed $t$, bounded-time optional sampling theorem gives $M_{t\wedge {\tau }_n}=\mathbb{E}(M_t\mid {\mathcal{F}}_{t\wedge {\tau }_n})$. Conditional Jensen inequality then yieldsThe brackets increase to $[M{]}_t$. Applying the monotone convergence theorem first in $n$ and then in $t\uparrow \infty$ proves $\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }\le C<\infty$.

The exact identities and terminal limits can also be justified. On each fixed horizon $t$, the Doob L2 maximal inequality givesThis is an integrable dominating variable for $M_{t\wedge {\tau }_n}^2$, so the dominated convergence theorem and increasing convergence of the brackets remove the stopping:The L2 martingale convergence theorem supplies $M_{\infty }$ with $M_t\to M_{\infty }$ almost surely and in L2 space. Consequently the squares converge in $L^1$, while $[M{]}_t\uparrow [M{]}_{\infty }$. We obtain the integrable terminal bracket criterion with the precise terminal identityFor $M_0\in L^2$ rather than zero, the final identity becomes $\mathbb{E}{M}_{\infty }^2=\mathbb{E}{M}_0^2+\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }$.

The previsible sigma-algebra $\mathcal{P}$ on $\Omega \times [0,\infty )$ is generated by $E\times \{0\}$ with $E\in {\mathcal{F}}_0$ and by $E\times (s,t]$ with $E\in {\mathcal{F}}_s$, $0\le s<t$. Equivalently it is the smallest sigma-algebra making every left-continuous adapted process measurable. A previsible process is a process measurable for $\mathcal{P}$.

A bounded simple predictable process has finitely many time intervals and bounded coefficients known at their left endpoints. One may use deterministic endpoints, or the customary more general elementary predictable process with stopping-time intervals:A bounded ${\mathcal{F}}_0$-measurable value at time zero may be added; it does not affect integration against a continuous martingale. A process with finite support is included by adding a zero coefficient on its terminal interval. Both versions of simple processes satisfy the arguments below. The elementary stochastic integral isWhen a stopping time is infinite, use the terminal value $M_{\infty }$, which exists in $L^2$ and almost surely for an L2-bounded continuous martingale. Refining intervals leaves this definition unchanged.

For a continuous local martingale $M$, its quadratic variation $[M]$ is the unique continuous adapted nondecreasing process starting at zero such that $(M_t-M_0{)}^2-[M{]}_t$ is a local martingale. It is predictable because it is continuous and adapted. To recover it from the path, use refining deterministic grids, for example $t_k^{(n)}=k{2}^{-n}$, and formOnly finitely many increments are nonzero on a compact time interval. ThenIn particular each fixed-time sum converges in probability, and a suitable subsequence converges uniformly on compact intervals almost surely. The partial last grid interval is included in this path approximation.

Use the representation from part (a), and put ${\Delta }_{j}M=M_{T_{j+1}}-M_{T_j}$, $U_j=h_j{\Delta }_{j}M$ and $N=H\cdot M$. The optional stopping theorem in the form needed here says that for a uniformly integrable martingale $L$ and stopping times $\sigma \le \tau$, including terminal infinite times, $\mathbb{E}[L_{\tau }\mid {\mathcal{F}}_{\sigma }]=L_{\sigma }$. An L2-bounded continuous martingale is uniformly integrable and has the required terminal value.

Consequently $\mathbb{E}[{\Delta }_{j}M\mid {\mathcal{F}}_{T_j}]=0$. Conditioning on ${\mathcal{F}}_t$ and distinguishing whether $T_j\le t$ givesThus $N_t=\mathbb{E}[{\sum }_j{U}_j\mid {\mathcal{F}}_t]$ is a martingale. Its paths are continuous, since each stopped increment is continuous and zero until its left endpoint.

For $i<j$, $U_i$ is ${\mathcal{F}}_{T_j}$-measurable, so the same conditional identity yields $\mathbb{E}(U_i{U}_j)=0$. These martingale-difference orthogonality relations also hold for the unweighted increments. ThereforeHere $N_{\infty }={\sum }_j{U}_j\in L^2$. By conditional Jensen, $\mathbb{E}{N}_t^2\le \mathbb{E}{N}_{\infty }^2$ for every $t$, soThis proves the norm bound without presupposing the Itô isometry requested next.

Let $V_t=⟨M{⟩}_t$, and first suppose $V_{\infty }=\infty$ almost surely in addition to strict increase. The Dambis-Dubins-Schwarz theorem says thatdefine a Brownian motion $B$ in the time-changed filtration and giveEach $T_u$ is a stopping time and is finite. Continuity and strict increase of $V$ make $u\mapsto T_u$ continuous, $V_{T_u}=u$ and $T_{V_t}=t$.

Here are the martingale details behind this inverse-clock proof of the Dambis-Dubins-Schwarz theorem. Stopping a continuous local martingale when its bracket reaches $n$ makes it an L2-bounded continuous martingale. This follows from the stopped Itô isometry or from the $p=2$ estimate proved in Question 1(a), applied after localization. In particular it is uniformly integrable, and optional sampling is valid even at an unbounded stopping time by taking limits. Applying this to $M$ stopped at $T_n$ shows that $(M_{T_{u\wedge n}}{)}_{u\ge 0}$ is a martingale. Thus $B$ is a continuous local martingale. Time-changing $M^2-V$ in the same way shows $B_u^2-u$ is a local martingale, so $⟨B{⟩}_u=u$.

For completeness, the Lévy characterization of Brownian motion follows directly from the Itô formula. If a continuous local martingale $N$, starting at zero, has bracket $u$, thenis a complex local martingale. Its modulus is bounded on each deterministic finite horizon, so it is a true martingale there. ConsequentlyConditional characteristic functions give Gaussian increments independent of the past. Iterating this identity gives independent increments, and continuity completes the Brownian characterization. The identical vector argument proves the Lévy characterization of multidimensional Brownian motion when the bracket matrix is $uI$.

The printed strict-increase hypothesis does not imply $V_{\infty }=\infty$. For example, $M_t={\int }_0^t{e}^{-s}d{W}_s$ has strictly increasing bracket $(1-e^{-2t})/2$. To state the theorem under exactly the printed hypothesis, allow an independent enlargement of the probability space if the terminal clock $L=V_{\infty }$ can be finite.

On $\{L<\infty \}$ the martingale $M$ has a finite terminal limit. Indeed, stopping at each bracket level $n$ gives an L2-bounded continuous martingale which converges; on $\{V_{\infty }<n\}$ the stopped process is the original one. This proves the finite-bracket convergence lemma. Set $T_u=\infty$ when $u\ge L$ and continue $N_u=M_{T_u}$ by that terminal limit. The optional-sampling argument just given makes $N$ a continuous local martingale with bracket $u\wedge L$. Moreover $L$ is a stopping time in ${\mathcal{G}}_u={\mathcal{F}}_{T_u}$.

On a product extension add an independent Brownian motion $\beta$ in clock time, and putThe two summands have zero quadratic covariation, and their brackets are $u\wedge L$ and $(u-L{)}^{+}$. Thus $⟨\tilde{B}{⟩}_u=u$; the proved characterization makes $\tilde{B}$ Brownian. Since $V_t<L$ at every finite $t$ when $L$ is finite, $M_t={\tilde{B}}_{V_t}$ still holds. This is the finite-lifetime extension of the Dambis-Dubins-Schwarz theorem. An infinite clock gives Brownian motion on the original space; a finite clock may require the independent extension.

The Novikov condition holds on every horizon, sinceTherefore $Z=\mathcal{E}(M)$ is a true martingale and the Girsanov theorem applies through each finite $T$.

The deterministic bound also gives a genuine infinite-horizon density. For any $p>1$, the stochastic exponential identity isA nonnegative local martingale is a supermartingale, soThis $L^p$ bound gives uniform integrability. Also $M$ is a L2-bounded continuous martingale, since localization and the Itô isometry give $\mathbb{E}{M}_t^2=\mathbb{E}[M{]}_t\le C$. The L2 martingale convergence theorem gives a finite limit $M_{\infty }$; hence $Z_{\infty }=\exp (M_{\infty }-[M{]}_{\infty }/2)>0$ and $\mathbb{E}{Z}_{\infty }=1$. Weighting by $Z_{\infty }$ defines an equivalent probability measure on ${\mathcal{F}}_{\infty }$. This is the bounded-bracket criterion for a stochastic exponential.

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.

Write $N_2=\Vert M_{\infty }{\Vert }_2$ and $N_{\ast }=\Vert {\sup }_{t\ge 0}|M_t|{\Vert }_2$. The L2 martingale convergence theorem ensures the existence of $M_{\infty }$ and yields $|M_{\infty }|\le {\sup }_t|M_t|$ almost surely. Hence $N_2\le N_{\ast }$.

For a finite horizon $T$, the Doob L2 maximal inequality for the submartingale $|M|$ givesThe inequality does not require $M_0=0$. Send $T$ to infinity: the left side increases to $N_{\ast }^2$ by the monotone convergence theorem, and the right side tends to $4N_2^2$ by convergence in the Lebesgue space $L^2$. Thus the equivalent terminal and maximal norms for L2-bounded continuous martingales satisfyBoth are genuine norms on L2-bounded continuous martingales modulo indistinguishability of stochastic processes: a zero terminal norm gives $M_t=\mathbb{E}[M_{\infty }\mid {\mathcal{F}}_t]=0$, first at rational times and then at all times by continuity. This proves that the two norms are equivalent norms.

A simple predictable process has the form $H_s={\sum }_{j=0}^{m-1}{h}_j{1}_{(t_j,t_{j+1}]}(s)$, where $0=t_0<\cdots <t_m<\infty$ are deterministic and $h_j$ is bounded and ${\mathcal{F}}_{t_j}$-measurable. A possible ${\mathcal{F}}_0$-measurable value at zero is irrelevant to this Itô integral. DefineEach 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 $L^2$ condition in the quadratic-variation measure in the next part holds.

Fix a L2-bounded continuous martingale $M$. Its quadratic-variation measure on the predictable sigma-algebra isIt is finite, since ${\nu }_M(\Omega \times [0,\infty ))=\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }=\mathbb{E}{M}_{\infty }^2-\mathbb{E}{M}_0^2$. The source Hilbert space is $L^2(M)=L^2(\Omega \times [0,\infty ),\mathcal{P},{\nu }_M)$: predictable processes with finite $\mathbb{E}\int H^{2}d[M]$, identified when equal ${\nu }_M$-almost everywhere. Its norm is $\Vert H{\Vert }_{L^2(M)}^2=\mathbb{E}\int H^{2}d[M]$.

The target ${\mathcal{M}}_0^2$ consists of L2-bounded continuous martingales starting at zero, identified up to indistinguishability of stochastic processes, with norm $\Vert K{\Vert }_{{\mathcal{M}}_0^2}=\Vert K_{\infty }{\Vert }_2$. It is a Hilbert space: terminal values belong to the closed linear subspace of $L^2({\mathcal{F}}_{\infty })$ whose conditional expectation given ${\mathcal{F}}_0$ is zero and whose associated martingales have continuous versions. Closure of that continuous-version subspace follows from the Doob L2 maximal inequality and an almost surely uniformly convergent subsequence.

The Itô isometry says that integration extends uniquely from simple predictable processes to a linear isometry $L^2(M)⟶{\mathcal{M}}_0^2$, withFor every finite $t$, the same identity holds with the integral restricted to $[0,t]$ and the left side $\mathbb{E}|(H\cdot M{)}_t{|}^2$. No claim of surjectivity onto all of ${\mathcal{M}}_0^2$ is needed: that would require an additional Martingale representation theorem.

For a L2-bounded continuous martingale $M$, define a finite measure on the predictable sigma-algebra by ${\nu }_M(A)=\mathbb{E}{\int }_0^{\infty }{1}_{A}d[M]$. Its total mass is $\mathbb{E}[M{]}_{\infty }=\mathbb{E}{M}_{\infty }^2-\mathbb{E}{M}_0^2$. The Lebesgue space $L^2({\nu }_M)$ identifies predictable processes that agree ${\nu }_M$-almost everywhere. Integration against $M$ is an isometry from this space into L2-bounded continuous martingales starting at zero by the Itô isometry. This gives the correct integrand space even when the quadratic variation is random or is not absolutely continuous in time.

For zero-starting L2-bounded continuous martingales, this condition is equivalent to $\mathbb{E}[M_t{N}_t]=0$ at equal times, by conditioning the later factor. The covariance identity for continuous square-integrable martingales also makes it equivalent to $\mathbb{E}[M,N{]}_t=0$. It is weaker than the vanishing bracket condition for orthogonal continuous local martingales: $B_{t\wedge 1}$ and $B_{t\wedge 1}^2-(t\wedge 1)$ have zero equal-time covariance but nonzero bracket $2{\int }_0^{t\wedge 1}{B}_{s}ds$.