The Snell envelope is a concept used primarily in the fields of stochastic control and optimal stopping theory. It provides a way to characterize the value of optimal stopping problems, particularly in scenarios where a decision-maker can stop a stochastic process at various times to maximize their expected payoff. Mathematically, the Snell envelope is defined as the least upper bound of the expected values of stopping times given a stochastic process. Formally, if \( X_t \) is a stochastic process (e.g.
A viscosity solution is a type of weak solution to certain types of nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs), particularly those of the Hamilton-Jacobi type. The concept is particularly useful in cases where classical solutions may not exist, such as when solutions may be discontinuous or exhibit other singular behaviors. ### Definition A viscosity solution satisfies the PDE in a "viscosity" sense, which means it adheres to a specific geometric interpretation involving test functions.
The volatility smile is a graphical representation of the implied volatility of options across different strike prices for the same expiration date. It typically shows that implied volatility is not constant across all strike prices; instead, it often exhibits a "smile" shape, where options that are either deep in-the-money or out-of-the-money tend to have higher implied volatilities compared to at-the-money options.
The Volfefe Index is a metric developed by economists to quantify the uncertainty and potential market impact of tweets from former U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly regarding economic and financial topics. The term "Volfefe" itself is a play on Trump's notorious tweet that included the nonsensical word "covfefe," and it combines "volatility" and "covfefe." The index was created to analyze how Trump's tweets affected stock market volatility and other economic indicators.
Penney's game is a non-transitive game involving two players, Alice and Bob, who choose sequences of heads (H) and tails (T) from a coin flip. Each player secretly selects a sequence of results, usually of three flips, and the goal is to determine which sequence is more likely to appear first in a series of fair coin tosses. The game works as follows: 1. **Choice of Sequences**: Alice picks a sequence of coin flips (e.g.
The Ponte del Diavolo, or "Devil's Bridge," refers to several bridges across Europe that are associated with folklore and legends involving the devil. One of the most famous examples is located in the town of Borgo a Mozzano in Tuscany, Italy. This medieval bridge, constructed in the 11th century, spans the Serchio River and is notable for its distinctive arch shape.
Racetrack is a type of game that often involves players competing against each other or against the clock in a racing format. The term "Racetrack" can refer to various games across different platforms, including board games, video games, and mobile games. 1. **Board Game**: In a board game context, a Racetrack might involve players moving pieces along a path based on dice rolls or other random mechanisms, with the goal of completing a race by reaching the finish line first.
The Bochner identity is a result in differential geometry and mathematical analysis that relates to the curvature of Riemannian manifolds and the Laplace-Beltrami operator. It is particularly useful in the study of functions on Riemannian manifolds and plays a significant role in the theory of heat equations and diffusion processes.
Lagrange's identity is a mathematical concept often associated with boundary value problems and involves functions defined in a certain domain with specific conditions. It is frequently used in the context of differential equations, particularly in relation to the solutions of second-order linear differential equations. In its classical form, Lagrange's identity relates solutions of a differential equation to their Wronskian, which is a determinant used to analyze the linear independence of a set of functions.
The Jacobi triple product is an important identity in the theory of partitions and combinatorial mathematics. It relates the series expansion of certain infinite products and has applications in number theory, combinatorics, and the study of special functions.
The Picone identity is a useful result in the theory of differential equations, particularly for second-order linear ordinary differential equations. It provides a way to relate two solutions of a second-order linear differential equation, allowing one to derive properties about solutions based on their behavior.
The Rogers–Ramanujan identities are two famous identities in the theory of partitions discovered by the mathematicians Charles Rogers and Srinivasa Ramanujan. They relate to the summation of series involving partitions of integers and have significant applications in combinatorics and number theory.
The Sommerfeld identity is a mathematical expression related to the theory of partial differential equations and applies particularly in the context of potentials in electrostatics, scattering problems, and other areas in physics. It often relates to the Green's function solutions of these equations.
Vector calculus identities are mathematical expressions that relate different operations in vector calculus, such as differentiation, integration, and the operations associated with vector fields—specifically the gradient, divergence, and curl. These identities are essential in physics and engineering, particularly in electromagnetism, fluid dynamics, and other fields where vector fields are prominent.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical Sciences Institutes are a network of research institutes in the United States that focus on various areas of mathematical sciences, including pure mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, and interdisciplinary fields. These institutes are supported by the NSF to promote research, training, and collaboration among mathematicians and scientists across different disciplines.
The Center for Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (CMTP) is a research institution typically found in academic settings that focuses on the intersection of mathematics and theoretical physics. While there may be specific centers with this name at various universities, they generally aim to foster research and collaboration in areas such as mathematical physics, quantum field theory, string theory, statistical mechanics, and related mathematical disciplines.
The Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM) is a research center located in Montreal, Canada, that specializes in the field of mathematics. It is affiliated with the Université de Montréal and serves as a hub for mathematical research and collaboration. Founded in 1969, the CRM focuses on promoting and facilitating advanced mathematical research through various programs, including workshops, conferences, and collaborative research projects.
The Institute of Mathematics and Applications (IMA) is an academic and research institution located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Established in 1999, the institute focuses on advancing the field of mathematics and its applications. It aims to promote research, education, and collaboration in various areas of mathematics, including pure and applied mathematics. IMA offers postgraduate programs, research opportunities, and various courses to students interested in mathematics and related fields.
The Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research is an organization based in the UK that focuses on theoretical research in mathematics, particularly in areas like number theory, combinatorics, and related fields. Founded in 2000, it was established with the aim of fostering collaboration among mathematicians and providing support for research activities. The institute is named after the German mathematician and philanthropist, Sir Klaus Heilbronn.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
Welcome to the OurBigBook Project! Our goal is to create the perfect publishing platform for STEM subjects, and get university-level students to write the best free STEM tutorials ever.
Everyone is welcome to create an account and play with the site: ourbigbook.com/go/register. We belive that students themselves can write amazing tutorials, but teachers are welcome too. You can write about anything you want, it doesn't have to be STEM or even educational. Silly test content is very welcome and you won't be penalized in any way. Just keep it legal!
Intro to OurBigBook
. Source. We have two killer features:
- topics: topics group articles by different users with the same title, e.g. here is the topic for the "Fundamental Theorem of Calculus" ourbigbook.com/go/topic/fundamental-theorem-of-calculusArticles of different users are sorted by upvote within each article page. This feature is a bit like:
- a Wikipedia where each user can have their own version of each article
- a Q&A website like Stack Overflow, where multiple people can give their views on a given topic, and the best ones are sorted by upvote. Except you don't need to wait for someone to ask first, and any topic goes, no matter how narrow or broad
This feature makes it possible for readers to find better explanations of any topic created by other writers. And it allows writers to create an explanation in a place that readers might actually find it.Figure 1. Screenshot of the "Derivative" topic page. View it live at: ourbigbook.com/go/topic/derivativeVideo 2. OurBigBook Web topics demo. Source. - local editing: you can store all your personal knowledge base content locally in a plaintext markup format that can be edited locally and published either:This way you can be sure that even if OurBigBook.com were to go down one day (which we have no plans to do as it is quite cheap to host!), your content will still be perfectly readable as a static site.
- to OurBigBook.com to get awesome multi-user features like topics and likes
- as HTML files to a static website, which you can host yourself for free on many external providers like GitHub Pages, and remain in full control
Figure 3. Visual Studio Code extension installation.Figure 4. Visual Studio Code extension tree navigation.Figure 5. Web editor. You can also edit articles on the Web editor without installing anything locally.Video 3. Edit locally and publish demo. Source. This shows editing OurBigBook Markup and publishing it using the Visual Studio Code extension.Video 4. OurBigBook Visual Studio Code extension editing and navigation demo. Source. - Infinitely deep tables of contents:
All our software is open source and hosted at: github.com/ourbigbook/ourbigbook
Further documentation can be found at: docs.ourbigbook.com
Feel free to reach our to us for any help or suggestions: docs.ourbigbook.com/#contact





