Stochastic analysis has a variety of applications to biological systems as well as physical and engineering problems, and its applications to finance and insurance have bloomed exponentially in recent times. The goal of this book is to present a broad overview of the range of applications of stochastic analysis and some of its recent theoretical developments. This includes numerical simulation, error analysis, parameter estimation, as well as control and robustness properties for stochastic equations. The book also covers the areas of backward stochastic differential equations via the (non-linear) G-Brownian motion and the case of jump processes. Concerning the applications to finance, many of the articles deal with the valuation and hedging of credit risk in various forms, and include recent results on markets with transaction costs.

The present book deals with a streamlined presentation of Levy processes and their densities. It is directed at advanced undergraduates who have already completed a basic probability course. Poisson random variables, exponential random variables, and the introduction of Poisson processes are presented first, followed by the introduction of Poisson random measures in a simple case. With these tools the reader proceeds gradually to compound Poisson processes, finite variation Levy processes and finally one-dimensional stable cases. This step-by-step progression guides the reader into the construction and study of the properties of general Levy processes with no Brownian component. In particular, in each case the corresponding Poisson random measure, the corresponding stochastic integral, and the corresponding stochastic differential equations (SDEs) are provided. The second part of the book introduces the tools of the integration by parts formula for jump processes in basic settings and first gradually provides the integration by parts formula in finite-dimensional spaces and gives a formula in infinite dimensions. These are then applied to stochastic differential equations in order to determine the existence and some properties of their densities. As examples, instances of the calculations of the Greeks in financial models with jumps are shown. The final chapter is devoted to the Boltzmann equation.

Stochastic analysis has a variety of applications to biological systems as well as physical and engineering problems, and its applications to finance and insurance have bloomed exponentially in recent times. The goal of this book is to present a broad overview of the range of applications of stochastic analysis and some of its recent theoretical developments. This includes numerical simulation, error analysis, parameter estimation, as well as control and robustness properties for stochastic equations. The book also covers the areas of backward stochastic differential equations via the (non-linear) G-Brownian motion and the case of jump processes. Concerning the applications to finance, many of the articles deal with the valuation and hedging of credit risk in various forms, and include recent results on markets with transaction costs.