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.

Markov Random Flights is the first systematic presentation of the theory of Markov random flights in the Euclidean spaces of different dimensions. Markov random flights is a stochastic dynamic system subject to the control of an external Poisson process and represented by the stochastic motion of a particle that moves at constant finite speed and changes its direction at random Poisson time instants. The initial (and each new) direction is taken at random according to some probability distribution on the unit sphere. Such stochastic motion is the basic model for describing many real finite-velocity transport phenomena arising in statistical physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science and financial markets. Markov random flights acts as an effective tool for modelling the slow and super-slow diffusion processes arising in various fields of science and technology. Features: Provides the first systematic presentation of the theory of Markov random flights in the Euclidean spaces of different dimensions. Suitable for graduate students and specialists and professionals in applied areas. Introduces a new unified approach based on the powerful methods of mathematical analysis, such as integral transforms, generalized, hypergeometric and special functions. Author Alexander D. Kolesnik is a professor, Head of Laboratory (2015–2019) and principal researcher (since 2020) at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, Kishinev (Chișinău), Moldova. He graduated from Moldova State University in 1980 and earned his PhD from the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev in 1991. He also earned a PhD Habilitation in mathematics and physics with specialization in stochastic processes, probability and statistics conferred by the Specialized Council at the Institute of Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and confirmed by the Supreme Attestation Commission of Ukraine in 2010. His research interests include: probability and statistics, stochastic processes, random evolutions, stochastic dynamic systems, random flights, diffusion processes, transport processes, random walks, stochastic processes in random environments, partial differential equations in stochastic models, statistical physics and wave processes. Dr. Kolesnik has published more than 70 scientific publications, mostly in high-standard international journals and a monograph. He has also acted as external referee for many outstanding international journals in mathematics and physics, being awarded by the "Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing" from the journal "Stochastic Processes and their Applications." He was the visiting professor and scholarship holder at universities in Italy and Germany and member of the Board of Global Advisors of the International Federation of Nonlinear Analysts (IFNA), United States of America.

Presents inference and simulation of stochastic process in the field of model calibration for financial times series modelled by continuous time processes and numerical option pricing. Introduces the bases of probability theory and goes on to explain how to model financial times series with continuous models, how to calibrate them from discrete data and further covers option pricing with one or more underlying assets based on these models. Analysis and implementation of models goes beyond the standard Black and Scholes framework and includes Markov switching models, Lévy models and other models with jumps (e.g. the telegraph process); Topics other than option pricing include: volatility and covariation estimation, change point analysis, asymptotic expansion and classification of financial time series from a statistical viewpoint. The book features problems with solutions and examples. All the examples and R code are available as an additional R package, therefore all the examples can be reproduced.

The cooperation and contamination among mathematicians, statisticians and econometricians working in actuarial sciences and finance are improving the research on these topics and producing numerous meaningful scientific results. This volume presents new ideas in the form of four- to six-page papers presented at the International Conference MAF2022 – Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Actuarial Sciences and Finance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference, to which this book is related, was organized in a hybrid form by the Department of Economics and Statistics of the University of Salerno, with the partnership of the Department of Economics of Cà Foscari University of Venice, and was held from 20 to 22 April 2022 in Salerno (Italy) MAF2022 is the tenth edition of an international biennial series of scientific meetings, started in 2004 on the initiative of the Department of Economics and Statistics of the University of Salerno. It has established itself internationally with gradual and continuous growth and scientific enrichment. The effectiveness of this idea has been proven by the wide participation in all the editions, which have been held in Salerno (2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022), Venice (2008, 2012 and 2020 online), Paris (2016) and Madrid (2018). This book covers a wide variety of subjects: artificial intelligence and machine learning in finance and insurance, behavioural finance, credit risk methods and models, dynamic optimization in finance, financial data analytics, forecasting dynamics of actuarial and financial phenomena, foreign exchange markets, insurance models, interest rate models, longevity risk, models and methods for financial time series analysis, multivariate techniques for financial markets analysis, pension systems, portfolio selection and management, real-world finance, risk analysis and management, trading systems, and others. This volume is a valuable resource for academics, PhD students, practitioners, professionals and researchers. Moreover, it is also of interest to other readers with quantitative background knowledge.

The book gives a systematical presentation of stochastic approximation methods for discrete time Markov price processes. Advanced methods combining backward recurrence algorithms for computing of option rewards and general results on convergence of stochastic space skeleton and tree approximations for option rewards are applied to a variety of models of multivariate modulated Markov price processes. The principal novelty of presented results is based on consideration of multivariate modulated Markov price processes and general pay-off functions, which can depend not only on price but also an additional stochastic modulating index component, and use of minimal conditions of smoothness for transition probabilities and pay-off functions, compactness conditions for log-price processes and rate of growth conditions for pay-off functions. The volume presents results on structural studies of optimal stopping domains, Monte Carlo based approximation reward algorithms, and convergence of American-type options for autoregressive and continuous time models, as well as results of the corresponding experimental studies.

This book is the first of two volumes on random motions in Markov and semi-Markov random environments. This first volume focuses on homogenous random motions. This volume consists of two parts, the first describing the basic concepts and methods that have been developed for random evolutions. These methods are the foundational tools used in both volumes, and this description includes many results in potential operators. Some techniques to find closed-form expressions in relevant applications are also presented. The second part deals with asymptotic results and presents a variety of applications, including random motion with different types of boundaries, the reliability of storage systems and solutions of partial differential equations with constant coefficients, using commutative algebra techniques. It also presents an alternative formulation to the Black-Scholes formula in finance, fading evolutions and telegraph processes, including jump telegraph processes and the estimation of the number of level crossings for telegraph processes.

This book is the second of two volumes on random motions in Markov and semi-Markov random environments. This second volume focuses on high-dimensional random motions. This volume consists of two parts. The first expands many of the results found in Volume 1 to higher dimensions. It presents new results on the random motion of the realistic three-dimensional case, which has so far been barely mentioned in the literature, and deals with the interaction of particles in Markov and semi-Markov media, which has, in contrast, been a topic of intense study. The second part contains applications of Markov and semi-Markov motions in mathematical finance. It includes applications of telegraph processes in modeling stock price dynamics and investigates the pricing of variance, volatility, covariance and correlation swaps with Markov volatility and the same pricing swaps with semi-Markov volatilities.