Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / iii / Paper 202 / 3

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.

The Tanaka equation is an example:It has weak solutions and uniqueness in law, but lacks pathwise uniqueness. The value $s(0)=1$ 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 $W$ and put $B=\int s(W)dW$. Its quadratic variation is $t$, so it is a Brownian motion by the Lévy characterization of Brownian motion, and associativity of stochastic integration gives $W=\int s(W)dB$. Every weak solution likewise has quadratic variation $t$ and therefore the law of Brownian motion. On this same enlarged filtration, both $W$ and $-W$ solve the equation driven by $B$: $s(-W)=-s(W)$ 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 Exponential martingale for Brownian motion is a true martingale: independent increments and the normal distribution identity $\mathbb{E}{e}^{aN}=e^{a^{2}v/2}$ for $N\sim N(0,v)$ give $\mathbb{E}[Z_t\mid {\mathcal{F}}_s]=Z_s$. Its second moment isThe uniform integrability from bounded second moments criterion now applies: for $K>0$,Thus $\{Z_t:0\le t\le T\}$ has uniform integrability. In fact, all values stopped at stopping times bounded by $T$ have uniform integrability, since $Z_{\tau }=\mathbb{E}[Z_T\mid {\mathcal{F}}_{\tau }]$ and uniform integrability of conditional expectations applies. This is a finite-horizon assertion, not an assertion of uniform integrability over all $t\ge 0$.

Define a probability measure on the same full measurable space byThe Radon-Nikodym derivative is positive and has expectation one, so this is a probability measure and even equivalent to $\mathbb{P}$, in particular ${\mathbb{P}}^T\ll \mathbb{P}$. For $t\le T$ its density on ${\mathcal{F}}_t$ is $\mathbb{E}[Z_T\mid {\mathcal{F}}_t]=Z_t$.

The finite-horizon Girsanov theorem says that if $W$ is a Brownian motion and $\mathcal{E}(\int hdW)$ is a true martingale through $T$ defining the density, then $W_t-{\int }_0^t{h}_{s}ds$ is a Brownian motion under that density for $t\le T$. Here $h_s=\mu$, and the stochastic exponential is exactly $Z$. The previous part verifies the necessary martingale property; alternatively the Novikov condition is $e^{{\mu }^{2}T/2}<\infty$. Hence $B_t-\mu t$ is a standard Brownian motion on $[0,T]$ relative to the same filtration under ${\mathbb{P}}^T$.

No absolutely continuous probability measure can remove this nonzero drift on the whole half-line. By the strong law for Brownian motion, the eventhas $\mathbb{P}$-probability one. If ${\mathbb{P}}^{\infty }\ll \mathbb{P}$, absolute continuity of measures gives ${\mathbb{P}}^{\infty }(A)=1$. But if $W_t=B_t-\mu t$ is a Brownian motion under ${\mathbb{P}}^{\infty }$, the same strong law for Brownian motion gives $B_t/t=W_t/t+\mu \to \mu$ with ${\mathbb{P}}^{\infty }$-probability one. Since $\mu >0$, these two limiting events are disjoint, a contradiction.

This is infinite-horizon singularity of Brownian motion with constant drift. The finite-horizon densities are consistent on ${\mathcal{F}}_t$ but cannot define a globally absolutely continuous measure with the requested property. Indeed,because $t^{-1}\log Z_t\to -{\mu }^2/2$. Hence $Z$ lacks uniform integrability on $[0,\infty )$. A drifted law does exist on canonical path space, but it is mutually singular with Wiener measure on the infinite-horizon path sigma-algebra.