A Free Boundary Characterisation of the Root Barrier for Markov Processes

We study the existence, optimality, and construction of non-randomised stopping times that solve the Skorokhod embedding problem (SEP) for Markov processes which satisfy a duality assumption. These stopping times are hitting times of space-time subsets, so-called Root barriers. Our main result is, besides the existence and optimality, a potential-theoretic characterisation of this Root barrier as a free boundary. If the generator of the Markov process is sufficiently regular, this reduces to an obstacle PDE that has the Root barrier as free boundary and thereby generalises previous results from one-dimensional diffusions to Markov processes. However, our characterisation always applies and allows, at least in principle, to compute the Root barrier by dynamic programming, even when the well-posedness of the informally associated obstacle PDE is not clear. Finally, we demonstrate the flexibility of our method by replacing time by an additive functional in Root's construction. Already for multi-dimensional Brownian motion this leads to new class of constructive solutions of (SEP).Comment: 31 pages, 14 figure

What is the probability of intersecting the set of Brownian double points?

We give potential theoretic estimates for the probability that a set $A$ contains a double point of planar Brownian motion run for unit time. Unlike the probability for $A$ to intersect the range of a Markov process, this cannot be estimated by a capacity of the set $A$. Instead, we introduce the notion of a capacity with respect to two gauge functions simultaneously. We also give a polar decomposition of $A$ into a set that never intersects the set of Brownian double points and a set for which intersection with the set of Brownian double points is the same as intersection with the Brownian path.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009117907000000169 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Explicit formulae in probability and in statistical physics

We consider two aspects of Marc Yor's work that have had an impact in statistical physics: firstly, his results on the windings of planar Brownian motion and their implications for the study of polymers; secondly, his theory of exponential functionals of Levy processes and its connections with disordered systems. Particular emphasis is placed on techniques leading to explicit calculations.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Seminaire de Probabilites, Special Issue Marc Yo