We prove the unique solvability of parabolic equations with discontinuous leading coefficients in $W_p^{1,2}((0,T)\times {ℝ}^d)$. Using this result, we establish the uniqueness of diffusion processes with time-dependent discontinuous coefficients.

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating the covariation of two diffusion processes when observations are subject to non-synchronicity. Building on recent papers [Bernoulli11 (2005) 359–379, Ann. Inst. Statist. Math.60 (2008) 367–406], we derive second-order asymptotic expansions for the distribution of the Hayashi–Yoshida estimator in a fairly general setup including random sampling schemes and non-anticipative random drifts. The key steps leading to our results are a second-order decomposition...

In this paper we solve the basic fractional analogue of the classical linear-quadratic Gaussian regulator problem in continuous-time with partial observation. For a controlled linear system where both the state and observation processes are driven by fractional Brownian motions, we describe explicitly the optimal control policy which minimizes a quadratic performance criterion. Actually, we show that a separation principle holds, i.e., the optimal control separates into two stages based on optimal...

We establish the following sharp local estimate for the family ${R_j}_{j=1}^d$ of Riesz transforms on ${ℝ}^d$. For any Borel subset A of ${ℝ}^d$ and any function $f:{ℝ}^d\to ℝ$, ${\int }_A|R_{j}f\left(x\right)|dx\le C_p{\left|\right|f\left|\right|}_{L^p\left({ℝ}^d\right)}{\left|A\right|}^{1/q}$, 1 < p < ∞. Here q = p/(p-1) is the harmonic conjugate to p, $C_p={[2^{q+2}\Gamma (q+1)/{\pi }^{q+1}{\sum }_{k=0}^{\infty }{(-1)}^k/{(2k+1)}^{q+1}]}^{1/q}$, 1 < p < 2, and $C_p={[4\Gamma (q+1)/{\pi }^q{\sum }_{k=0}^{\infty }1/{(2k+1)}^q]}^{1/q}$, 2 ≤ p < ∞. This enables us to determine the precise values of the weak-type constants for Riesz transforms for 1 < p < ∞. The proof rests on appropriate martingale inequalities, which are of independent interest.

For any locally integrable f on ℝⁿ, we consider the operators S and T which average f over balls of radius |x| and center 0 and x, respectively: $Sf\left(x\right)=1/\left|B\right(0,\left|x\right|\left)\right|{\int }_{B(0,|x\left|\right)}f\left(t\right)dt$, $Tf\left(x\right)=1/\left|B\right(x,\left|x\right|\left)\right|{\int }_{B(x,|x\left|\right)}f\left(t\right)dt$ for x ∈ ℝⁿ. The purpose of the paper is to establish sharp localized LlogL estimates for S and T. The proof rests on a corresponding one-weight estimate for a martingale maximal function, a result which is of independent interest.

We determine the optimal constants $C_{p,q}$ in the moment inequalities ${\left|\right|g\left|\right|}_p\le C_{p,q}{\left|\right|f\left|\right|}_q$, 1 ≤ p< q< ∞, where f = (fₙ), g = (gₙ) are two martingales, adapted to the same filtration, satisfying |dgₙ| ≤ |dfₙ|, n = 0,1,2,..., with probability 1. Furthermore, we establish related sharp estimates ||g||₁ ≤ supₙΦ(|fₙ|) + L(Φ), where Φ is an increasing convex function satisfying certain growth conditions and L(Φ) depends only on Φ.

Let f be a conditionally symmetric martingale and let S(f) denote its square function. (i) For p,q > 0, we determine the best constants $C_{p,q}$ such that $su{p}_n{\left(\right|fₙ|}^p{)/(1+Sₙ²\left(f\right))}^q\le C_{p,q}$. Furthermore, the inequality extends to the case of Hilbert space valued f. (ii) For N = 1,2,... and q > 0, we determine the best constants $C_{N,q}^{\text{'}}$ such that $su{p}_n\left(f{ₙ}^{2N-1}\right){(1+Sₙ²\left(f\right))}^q\le C_{N,q}^{\text{'}}$. These bounds are extended to sums of conditionally symmetric variables which are not necessarily integrable. In addition, we show that neither of the inequalities above holds if the conditional...

We study sharp weak-type inequalities for a wide class of Fourier multipliers resulting from modulation of the jumps of Lévy processes. In particular, we obtain optimal estimates for second-order Riesz transforms, which lead to interesting a priori bounds for smooth functions on ℝd. The proofs rest on probabilistic methods: we deduce the above inequalities from the corresponding estimates for martingales. To obtain the lower bounds, we exploit the properties of laminates, important probability measures...

Let ${\left(h_k\right)}_{k\ge 0}$ be the Haar system on [0,1]. We show that for any vectors $a_k$ from a separable Hilbert space and any ${\epsilon }_k\in [-1,1]$, k = 0,1,2,..., we have the sharp inequality $\left|\right|{\sum }_{k=0}^n{\epsilon }_k{a}_k{h}_k{\left|\right|}_{W\left(\right[0,1\left]\right)}\le 2\left|\right|{\sum }_{k=0}^n{a}_k{h}_k{\left|\right|}_{L^{\infty }\left([0,1]\right)}$, n = 0,1,2,..., where W([0,1]) is the weak-$L^{\infty }$ space introduced by Bennett, DeVore and Sharpley. The above estimate is generalized to the sharp weak-type bound ${\left|\right|Y\left|\right|}_{W\left(\Omega \right)}{\le 2\left|\right|X\left|\right|}_{L^{\infty }\left(\Omega \right)}$, where X and Y stand for -valued martingales such that Y is differentially subordinate to X. An application to harmonic functions on Euclidean domains is presented.