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Ilya Molchanov

Publications and source records attributed to Ilya Molchanov.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Regularity conditions in the realisability problem with applications to point processes and random closed sets

We study existence of random elements with partially specified distributions. The technique relies on the existence of a positive extension for linear functionals accompanied by additional conditions that ensure the regularity of the extension needed for interpreting it as a probability measure. It is shown in which case the extension can be chosen to possess some invariance properties. The results are applied to the existence of point processes with given correlation measure and random closed sets with given two-point covering function or contact distribution function. It is shown that the regularity condition can be efficiently checked in many cases in order to ensure that the obtained point processes are indeed locally finite and random sets have closed realisations.

math.PR↗

The semigroup of metric measure spaces and its infinitely divisible probability measures

A metric measure space is a complete separable metric space equipped with probability measure that has full support. Two such spaces are equivalent if they are isometric as metric spaces via an isometry that maps the probability measure on the first space to the probability measure on the second. The resulting set of equivalence classes can be metrized with the Gromov-Prohorov metric of Greven, Pfaffelhuber and Winter. We consider the natural binary operation $\boxplus$ on this space that takes two metric measure spaces and forms their Cartesian product equipped with the sum of the two metrics and the product of the two probability measures. We show that the metric measure spaces equipped with this operation form a cancellative, commutative, Polish semigroup with a translation invariant metric and that each element has a unique factorization into prime elements. We investigate the interaction between the semigroup structure and the natural action of the positive real numbers on this space that arises from scaling the metric. For example, we show that for any given positive real numbers $a,b,c$ the trivial space is the only space $\mathcal{X}$ that satisfies $a \mathcal{X} \boxplus b \mathcal{X} = c \mathcal{X}$. We establish that there is no analogue of the law of large numbers: if $\mathbf{X}_1, \mathbf{X}_2$..., is an identically distributed independent sequence of random spaces, then no subsequence of $\frac{1}{n} \boxplus_{k=1}^n \mathbf{X}_k$ converges in distribution unless each $\mathbf{X}_k$ is almost surely equal to the trivial space. We characterize the infinitely divisible probability measures and the Lévy processes on this semigroup, characterize the stable probability measures and establish a counterpart of the LePage representation for the latter class.

math.PR↗

Continued fractions built from convex sets and convex functions

In a partially ordered semigroup with the duality (or polarity) transform, it is possible to define a generalisation of continued fractions. General sufficient conditions for convergence of continued fractions with deterministic terms are provided. Two particular applications concern the cases of convex sets with the Minkowski addition and the polarity transform (where also necessary and sufficient conditions of convergence for continued fractions with constant terms are obtained) and the family of non-negative convex functions with the Legendre--Fenchel and Artstein-Avidan--Milman transforms.

math.MG↗

Invariance properties of random vectors and stochastic processes based on the zonoid concept

Two integrable random vectors $ξ$ and $ξ^*$ in $\mathbb {R}^d$ are said to be zonoid equivalent if, for each $u\in \mathbb {R}^d$, the scalar products $\langleξ,u\rangle$ and $\langleξ^*,u\rangle$ have the same first absolute moments. The paper analyses stochastic processes whose finite-dimensional distributions are zonoid equivalent with respect to time shift (zonoid stationarity) and permutation of its components (swap invariance). While the first concept is weaker than the stationarity, the second one is a weakening of the exchangeability property. It is shown that nonetheless the ergodic theorem holds for swap-invariant sequences and the limits are characterised.

math.PR↗

Stationarity of multivariate particle systems

A particle system is a family of i.i.d. stochastic processes with values translated by Poisson points. We obtain conditions that ensure the stationarity in time of the particle system in R^d and in some cases provide a full characterisation of the stationarity property. In particular, a full characterisation of stationary multivariate Brown-Resnick processes is given.

math.PR↗

Large deviations for heavy-tailed random elements in convex cones

We prove large deviation results for sums of heavy-tailed random elements in rather general convex cones being semigroups equipped with a rescaling operation by positive real numbers. In difference to previous results for the cone of convex sets, our technique does not use the embedding of cones in linear spaces. Examples include the cone of convex sets with the Minkowski addition, positive half-line with maximum operation and the family of square integrable functions with arithmetic addition and argument rescaling.

math.PR↗

Stability for random measures, point processes and discrete semigroups

Discrete stability extends the classical notion of stability to random elements in discrete spaces by defining a scaling operation in a randomised way: an integer is transformed into the corresponding binomial distribution. Similarly defining the scaling operation as thinning of counting measures we characterise the corresponding discrete stability property of point processes. It is shown that these processes are exactly Cox (doubly stochastic Poisson) processes with strictly stable random intensity measures. We give spectral and LePage representations for general strictly stable random measures without assuming their independent scattering. As a consequence, spectral representations are obtained for the probability generating functional and void probabilities of discrete stable processes. An alternative cluster representation for such processes is also derived using the so-called Sibuya point processes, which constitute a new family of purely random point processes. The obtained results are then applied to explore stable random elements in discrete semigroups, where the scaling is defined by means of thinning of a point process on the basis of the semigroup. Particular examples include discrete stable vectors that generalise discrete stable random variables and the family of natural numbers with the multiplication operation, where the primes form the basis.

math.PR↗

Exchangeability type properties of asset prices

In this paper we analyse financial implications of exchangeability and similar properties of finite dimensional random vectors. We show how these properties are reflected in prices of some basket options in view of the well-known put-call symmetry property and the duality principle in option pricing. A particular attention is devoted to the case of asset prices driven by Levy processes. Based on this, concrete semi-static hedging techniques for multi-asset barrier options, such as certain weighted barrier spread options, weighted barrier swap options or weighted barrier quanto-swap options are suggested.

q-fin.PR↗

Geometric extension of put-call symmetry in the multiasset setting

In this paper we show how to relate European call and put options on multiple assets to certain convex bodies called lift zonoids. Based on this, geometric properties can be translated into economic statements and vice versa. For instance, the European call-put parity corresponds to the central symmetry property, while the concept of dual markets can be explained by reflection with respect to a plane. It is known that the classical univariate log-normal model belongs to a large class of distributions with an extra property, analytically known as put-call symmetry. The geometric interpretation of this symmetry property motivates a natural multivariate extension. The financial meaning of this extension is explained, the asset price distributions that have this property are characterised and their further properties explored. It is also shown how to relate some multivariate asymmetric distributions to symmetric ones by a power transformation that is useful to adjust for carrying costs. A particular attention is devoted to the case of asset prices driven by Lévy processes. Based on this, semi-static hedging techniques for multiasset barrier options are suggested.

q-fin.CP↗

Convex and star-shaped sets associated with stable distributions

It is known that each symmetric stable distribution in $R^d$ is related to a norm on $R^d$ that makes $R^d$ embeddable in $L_p([0,1])$. In case of a multivariate Cauchy distribution the unit ball in this norm corresponds is the polar set to a convex set in $R^d$ called a zonoid. This work interprets general stable laws using convex or star-shaped sets and exploits recent advances in convex geometry in order to come up with new probabilistic results for multivariate stable distributions. In particular, it provides expressions for moments of the Euclidean norm of a stable vector, mixed moments and various integrals of the density function. It is shown how to use geometric inequalities in order to bound important parameters of stable laws. It is shown that each symmetric stable laws appears as the limit for the sum of sub-Gaussian laws and an estimate for the probability distance to a sub-Gaussian law is given. Operations with convex sets induce the well-known and new operations with stable vectors. Furthermore, covariation, regression and orthogonality concepts for stable laws acquire geometric interpretations. A similar collection of results is presented for one-sided stable laws.

math.PR↗

Convex geometry of max-stable distributions

It is shown that max-stable random vectors in $[0,\infty)^d$ with unit Fréchet marginals are in one to one correspondence with convex sets $K$ in $[0,\infty)^d$ called max-zonoids. The max-zonoids can be characterised as sets obtained as limits of Minkowski sums of cross-polytopes or, alternatively, as the selection expectation of a random cross-polytope whose distribution is controlled by the spectral measure of the max-stable random vector. Furthermore, the cumulative distribution function $\Prob{ξ\leq x}$ of a max-stable random vector $ξ$ with unit Fréchet marginals is determined by the norm of the inverse to $x$, where all possible norms are given by the support functions of max-zonoids. As an application, geometrical interpretations of a number of well-known concepts from the theory of multivariate extreme values and copulas are provided. The convex geometry approach makes it possible to introduce new operations with max-stable random vectors.

math.PR↗

Multivariate risks and depth-trimmed regions

We describe a general framework for measuring risks, where the risk measure takes values in an abstract cone. It is shown that this approach naturally includes the classical risk measures and set-valued risk measures and yields a natural definition of vector-valued risk measures. Several main constructions of risk measures are described in this abstract axiomatic framework. It is shown that the concept of depth-trimmed (or central) regions from the multivariate statistics is closely related to the definition of risk measures. In particular, the halfspace trimming corresponds to the Value-at-Risk, while the zonoid trimming yields the expected shortfall. In the abstract framework, it is shown how to establish a both-ways correspondence between risk measures and depth-trimmed regions. It is also demonstrated how the lattice structure of the space of risk values influences this relationship.

math.PR↗

A limit theorem for the maximal interpoint distance of a random sample in the unit ball

We prove a limit theorem for the the maximal interpoint distance (also called the diameter) for a sample of n i.i.d. points in the unit ball of dimension 2 or more. The exact form of the limit distribution and the required normalisation are derived using assumptions on the tail of the interpoint distance for two i.i.d. points. The results are specialised for the cases when the points have spherical symmetric distributions, in particular, are uniformly distributed in the whole ball and on its boundary.

math.PR↗

Diffusion-limited aggregation with jumps and flights

The paper suggests a generalisation of the diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) based on using a general stochastic process to control particle movements before sticking to a growing cluster. This leads to models with variable characteristics that can provide a single framework for treating a number of earlier models of fractal growth: the DLA, the Eden model and the ballistic aggregation. Additionally, a classification of fractal growth models is suggested.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

Strictly stable distributions on convex cones

Using the LePage representation, a strictly stable random element in a Banach space with $α\in(0,2)$ can be represented as a sum of points of a Poisson process. This point process is union-stable, i.e. the union of its two independent copies coincides in distribution with the rescaled original point process. These concepts makes sense in any convex cone, i.e. in a commutative semigroup equipped with multiplication by numbers, and lead to a construction of stable laws in general cones by means of the LePage series. The corresponding limit theorem shows that random samples (or binomial point processes) converge in distribution to the union-stable Poisson point process, and so yields a limit theorem for normalised sums of random elements with $α$-stable limit for $α\in(0,1)$. By using the technique of harmonic analysis on semigroups we characterise distributions of $α$-stable random elements and show how possible values of $α$ relate to the properties of the semigroup and the corresponding scaling operation, in particular, their distributivity properties. The approach developed in the paper not only makes it possible to handle stable distributions in rather general cones (like spaces of sets or measures), but also provides an alternative way to prove classical limit theorems and deduce the LePage representation for strictly stable random vectors in Banach spaces.

math.PR↗