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For Schramm–Loewner evolution with $\kappa =4$ and $Z_t=g_t(z)-2W_t$, the Itô formula for the complex logarithm gives $d\log Z_t=-2Z_t^{-1}d{W}_t$ before swallowing. The drift cancels exactly at this parameter. Its real part is $\log |Z_t|$ and its imaginary part is the SLE4 angle martingale. The real-part quadratic variation is $4\int X_t^2/|Z_t{|}^{4}dt$, which also gives a direct non-swallowing argument.

For parameter four, the SLE4 angle martingale is bounded, so the Continuous-time martingale convergence theorem gives an almost sure limit. The imaginary part of the Chordal Loewner equation givesFor a point off the full simple Loewner trace the flow exists at every finite time. If the limiting angle lay strictly between $0$ and $\pi$, the last derivative would eventually be bounded above by a strictly negative constant. That would make $Y_t^2$ negative, a contradiction. Hence the terminal angle is either zero or $\pi$.

The simple transient chordal Loewner trace from $0$ to infinity splits the complex upper half-plane into a left component $D^{-}$, adjacent to the negative real boundary, and a right component $D^{+}$, adjacent to the positive real boundary. The Dirichlet boundary values of the SLE angle process identify which terminal value occurs. Indeed, run an independent planar Brownian motion from $z$ until it first hits the full Loewner trace or the real axis. This time is finite. The Brownian path up to that time is bounded, and Transience of chordal SLE ensures that any Loewner trace point it meets belongs to a finite initial segment. Thus its exit side for the truncated domains eventually agrees with its exit side for the full component. In $D^{-}$ every such exit is through the left bank or negative real boundary; in $D^{+}$ every exit is through the right bank or positive real boundary. Dominated convergence in the harmonic-measure representation therefore givesThis is a random side indicator, not the deterministic value $\arg z$. Uniform integrability also gives $\mathbb{E}[F(z)]=\arg z$, so the SLE4 left-passage probability is

Use the Chordal Loewner equation with Loewner driving function ${\xi }_t=\sqrt{\kappa }{W}_t$, and set $Z_t=g_t(z)-{\xi }_t=X_t+i{Y}_t$. Before the Loewner swallowing time,The upper-half-plane branch of the logarithm has imaginary part $h_t$. The Itô formula givesand therefore the SLE angle process satisfiesAt $\kappa =4$ the drift vanishes. Since $0<h_t<\pi$, the stopped local martingale is a true bounded martingale, and the SLE4 angle martingale is global for each fixed point almost surely, using fixed-interior-point avoidance of SLE4 for the simple parameter-four Loewner trace.

Conversely, take $\kappa >0$. If this semimartingale were a local martingale, uniqueness of its finite-variation decomposition would force $(\kappa -4)X_t{Y}_t=0$ throughout every compact interval before swallowing. Because $Y_t>0$, for $\kappa \ne 4$ this would force $X_t$ to be identically zero on such an interval. Its Brownian component has quadratic variation $\kappa t$, which makes that impossible. Thus for positive $\kappa$, the martingale parameter is exactly four.

If the degenerate value $\kappa =0$ is admitted, there is one exception to a fixed-point reading of the assertion: for $z$ on the positive imaginary axis the deterministic flow stays on that axis until swallowing, and $h_t=\pi /2$ is constant. For all starting points simultaneously, the unique parameter giving the martingale property is still four.

Use $U_t=2W_t$ and write $Z_t=X_t+i{Y}_t$ up to its interior-point swallowing time for a Loewner chain $T_z$. The Chordal Loewner equation givesThe branch of the complex logarithm with argument in $(0,\pi )$ is well-defined while $t<T_z$. The Itô formula yields the crucial cancellationThe $2/Z_t^2$ drift is cancelled by the quadratic variation term, because $\kappa =4$. Thus both $L_t=\log |Z_t|$ and ${\theta }_t=\arg Z_t$ are continuous local martingales, withThis is the logarithmic martingale for SLE4.

We justify absence of a finite swallowing time rather than presuming that the logarithm survives forever. On a finite horizon $H$, $0<Y_t\le \mathrm{Im}z$. Also $|X_t|$ is bounded pathwise before $T_z\wedge H$. Indeed, while $|X_t|\ge 1$ its drift $2X_t/|Z_t{|}^2$ has absolute value at most $2$; on each excursion outside $[-1,1]$, integrate from its starting point and bound the Brownian oscillation on $[0,H]$. For example,Therefore $L_t$ is bounded above pathwise on this interval.

Suppose $T_z\le H$. By the Dambis-Dubins-Schwarz theorem, $L$ is a Brownian motion run at its own quadratic variation. If that clock diverged as $t\uparrow T_z$, Brownian oscillation would make $L$ unbounded above, contradicting the preceding bound. The one-sided bound criterion for a martingale clock therefore gives a finite clock limit and a finite real limit for $L_t$. Hence $|Z_t|$ is bounded away from zero near $T_z$.

Now $Y_t=Y_0\exp (-2{\int }_0^t|Z_s{|}^{-2}ds)$ has a strictly positive limit at $T_z$. The drift in $X$ is integrable there, so continuity of $W$ gives a finite limit for $X$ as well. The limiting point is in $\mathbb{H}$ and away from the Loewner driver singularity, and the differential equation extends past $T_z$, a contradiction. Thus $T_z=\infty$ almost surely. A point of the Loewner trace at a finite time belongs to that time's hull, soThis proves the fixed-interior-point avoidance of SLE4 without using simplicity as an input.

The angle remains in $(0,\pi )$ at all finite times. The bounded local martingale criterion upgrades its local martingale equation to a genuine martingale:In particular this is the SLE4 angle martingale, and it converges almost surely and in $L^1$ by bounded martingale convergence theorem.

It remains to identify the limiting angle using the assumed simple path tending to infinity. Orient that path from $0$ to infinity. Its left component is the one adjacent to the negative real half-axis. Under $g_t$, the left boundary of the slit domain maps to $(-\infty ,U_t)$ and the right boundary to $(U_t,\infty )$. The harmonic measure of the former as seen from $z$ isThis follows by conformal invariance of planar Brownian motion: in the upper half-plane, $\arg (w-U_t)/\pi$ is the bounded harmonic function with values $1$ on the left half-axis and $0$ on the right.

To justify the limiting boundary classification, condition on a simple proper realization of the path and use an independent planar Brownian motion from $z$. It exits the upper half-plane in finite time almost surely, so its path up to that time is compact. The curve tends to infinity, so its intersection with this compact set is contained in a finite initial curve segment. Once that segment has been drawn, the Brownian path exits the slit domain through its left boundary exactly when $z$ is in the final left component: a path from that component cannot reach the right boundary without crossing the curve, and the reverse assertion holds on the right. Endpoints have zero harmonic measure. Bounded convergence of these exit indicators provesTaking expectations in the bounded angle martingale gives the SLE4 left-passage probabilityFor the imaginary axis it is $1/2$; near the negative real axis it tends to $1$, fixing the orientation of “left”.

Before the Loewner swallowing time $T_z$, put $Z_t=g_t(z)-U_t=X_t+i{Y}_t$ and ${\theta }_t=\arg Z_t\in (0,\pi )$. The Itô formula applied to the holomorphic logarithm in the complex upper half-plane givesTaking imaginary parts yields the SLE angle processFor $\kappa =4$ the drift vanishes, sois a continuous local martingale. Since $0<{\theta }_t<\pi$, every localized stopped version is a bounded true martingale. After resolving the lifetime issue below, the dominated convergence theorem applied to conditional expectations removes localization and gives a true bounded martingale.

For completeness, there is no finite lifetime ambiguity for a fixed interior $z$ in this parameter range. The preceding Bessel process and Conformal Markov property of SLE argument gives a simple trace staying in the interior, so no point is swallowed in a disconnected pocket. If $T_z$ were finite, the trace would have to reach $z$, forcing the Loewner conformal radius to tend to zero by the Koebe quarter theorem. ButThe Dambis-Dubins-Schwarz theorem says that a bounded continuous local martingale cannot have infinite quadratic variation before a finite terminal time: that would require a Brownian motion to stay in a bounded interval for all clock times. Therefore ${{\rm Y}}_t$ cannot tend to zero at a finite $T_z$, a contradiction. Thus $T_z=\infty$ almost surely for each fixed $z$. This proves the SLE4 angle martingale assertion: the angle is a bounded continuous martingale. In particular $\mathbb{E}[{\theta }_t]=\arg z$. The upper-half-plane branch of the argument is used throughout.