Nikita Ratanov – författare

The telegraph process is a useful mathematical model for describing the stochastic motion of a particle that moves with finite speed on the real line and alternates between two possible directions of motion at random time instants. That is why it can be considered as the finite-velocity counterpart of the classical Einstein-Smoluchowski''s model of the Brownian motion in which the infinite speed of motion and the infinite intensity of the alternating directions are assumed.

The book will be interesting to specialists in the area of diffusion processes with finite speed of propagation and in financial modelling. It will also be useful for students and postgraduates who are taking their first steps in these intriguing and attractive fields.

This book provides an extensive, systematic overview of the modern theory of telegraph processes and their multidimensional counterparts, together with numerous fruitful applications in financial modelling. Focusing on stochastic processes of bounded variation instead of classical diffusion, or more generally, Lévy processes, has two obvious benefits. First, the mathematical technique is much simpler, which helps to concentrate on the key problems of stochastic analysis and applications, including financial market modelling. Second, this approach overcomes some shortcomings of the (parabolic) nature of classical diffusions that contradict physical intuition, such as infinite propagation velocity and infinite total variation of paths. In this second edition, some sections of the previous text are included without any changes, while most others have been expanded and significantly revised. These are supplemented by predominantly new results concerning piecewise linear processes with arbitrary sequences of velocities, jump amplitudes, and switching intensities. The chapter on functionals of the telegraph process has been significantly expanded by adding sections on exponential functionals, telegraph meanders and running extrema, the times of the first passages of telegraph processes with alternating random jumps, and distribution of the Euclidean distance between two independent telegraph processes. A new chapter on the multidimensional counterparts of the telegraph processes is also included.

The book is intended for graduate students in mathematics, probability, statistics and quantitative finance, and for researchers working at academic institutions, in industry and engineering. It can also be used by university lecturers and professionals in various applied areas.