Minimal Root's embeddings for general starting and target distributions

Abstract

Most results regarding Skorokhod embedding problems (SEP) so far rely on the assumption that the corresponding stopped process is uniformly integrable, which is equivalent to the convex ordering condition $\mathrm{U}^{\mu}\leq\mathrm{U}^{\nu}$ when the underlying process is a local martingale. In this paper, we study the existence, construction of Root's solutions to SEP, in the absence of this convex ordering condition. We replace the uniform integrability condition by the minimality condition (Monroe,1972), as the criterion of "good" solutions. A sufficient and necessary condition (in terms of local time) for minimality is given. We also discuss the optimality of such minimal solutions. These results extend the generality of the results given by Cox and Wang [2013] and Gassiat et al. [2015]. At last, we extend all the results mentioned above to multi-marginal embedding problems based on the work of Cox et al. [2018].