Convergence of Probability Measures. By P. Billingsley. Chichester, Sussex, Wiley, 1968. xii, 253 p. 9 1/4“. 117s.

Convergence of Probability Measures

to be done in this area. Face recognition is a problem that scarcely clamoured for attention before the computer age but, having surfaced, has involved a wide range of techniques and has attracted the attention of some fine minds (David Mumford was a Fields Medallist in 1974). This singular application of mathematical modelling to a messy applied problem of obvious utility and importance but with no unique solution is a pretty one to share with students: perhaps, returning to the source of our opening quotation, we may invert Duncan's earlier observation, 'There is an art to find the mind's construction in the face!'.

Linear and nonlinear waves, by G. B. Whitham. Pp.636. £50. 1999. ISBN 0 471 35942 4 (Wiley).

We explore in this chapter questions of existence and uniqueness for solutions to stochastic differential equations and offer a study of their properties. This endeavor is really a study of diffusion processes. Loosely speaking, the term diffusion is attributed to a Markov process which has continuous sample paths and can be characterized in terms of its infinitesimal generator.

Stochastic Differential Equations

Preface to the revised edition Remarks on notation 1. Basic examples 2. Characterization and existence 3. Stable processes and their extensions 4. The Levy-Ito decomposition of sample functions 5. Distributional properties of Levy processes 6. Subordination and density transformation 7. Recurrence and transience 8. Potential theory for Levy processes 9. Wiener-Hopf factorizations 10. More distributional properties Supplement Solutions to exercises References and author index Subject index.

Lévy processes and infinitely divisible distributions

Real and Complex Analysis

Using systematically a tricky idea of N.V. Krylov, we obtain general results on the rate of convergence of a certain class of monotone approximation schemes for stationary Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations with variable coefficients. This result applies in particular to control schemes based on the dynamic programming principle and to finite difference schemes despite, here, we are not able to treat the most general case. General results have been obtained earlier by Krylov for finite difference schemes in the stationary case with constant coefficients and in the time-dependent case with variable coefficients by using control theory and probabilistic methods. In this paper we are able to handle variable coefficients by a purely analytical method. In our opinion this way is far simpler and, for the cases we can treat, it yields a better rate of convergence than Krylov obtains in the variable coefficients case.

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On the convergence rate of approximation schemes for Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations

. We obtain nonsymmetric upper and lower bounds on the rate of convergence of general monotone approximation/numerical schemes for parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations by introducing a new notion of consistency. Our results are robust and general - they improve and extend earlier results by Krylov, Barles, and Jakobsen. We apply our general results to various schemes including Crank-Nicholson type finite difference schemes, splitting methods, and the classical approximation by piecewise constant controls. In the first two cases our results are new, and in the last two cases the results are obtained by a new method which we develop here.

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Error bounds for monotone approximation schemes for parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations

We formulate and prove a non-local "maximum principle for semi- continuous functions" in the setting of fully nonlinear and degenerate elliptic integro-partial dierential equations with integro operators of second order. Similar results have been used implicitly by several researchers to obtain com- parison/uniqueness results for integro-partial dierential equations, but proofs have so far been lacking.

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A “maximum principle for semicontinuous functions” applicable to integro-partial differential equations

We obtain error bounds for monotone approximation schemes of Hamilton--Jacobi--Bellman equations. These bounds improve previous results of Krylov and the authors. The key step in the proof of these new estimates is the introduction of a switching system which allows the construction of approximate, (almost) smooth supersolutions for the Hamilton--Jacobi--Bellman equation.

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Error Bounds for Monotone Approximation Schemes for Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equations

https://www.math.ntnu.no/conservation/2004/036.pdf

Espen R. Jakobsen

Papers

On the convergence rate of approximation schemes for Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations

Error bounds for monotone approximation schemes for parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations

A “maximum principle for semicontinuous functions” applicable to integro-partial differential equations

Error Bounds for Monotone Approximation Schemes for Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equations

Continuous dependence estimates for viscosity solutions of integro-pdes