ConceptComplete

Linear Stochastic Differential Equations

Linear SDEs are equations of the form dXt=(atXt+bt)dt+(ctXt+dt)dBtdX_t = (a_t X_t + b_t) dt + (c_t X_t + d_t) dB_t. They can be solved explicitly using Itô's formula.


Homogeneous case

ExampleGeometric Brownian motion

dXt=μXtdt+σXtdBtdX_t = \mu X_t dt + \sigma X_t dB_t with X0=x0>0X_0 = x_0 > 0. Apply Itô to f(Xt)=logXtf(X_t) = \log X_t:

d(logXt)=(μσ22)dt+σdBt.d(\log X_t) = \left(\mu - \frac{\sigma^2}{2}\right) dt + \sigma dB_t.

Integrating:

Xt=x0exp((μσ22)t+σBt).X_t = x_0 \exp\left(\left(\mu - \frac{\sigma^2}{2}\right)t + \sigma B_t\right).

This is the Black-Scholes model for stock prices.


Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process

ExampleMean-reverting process

dXt=θ(Xtμ)dt+σdBtdX_t = -\theta(X_t - \mu) dt + \sigma dB_t. This models a variable reverting to mean μ\mu with rate θ\theta. Solution:

Xt=μ+(X0μ)eθt+σ0teθ(ts)dBs.X_t = \mu + (X_0 - \mu)e^{-\theta t} + \sigma \int_0^t e^{-\theta(t-s)} dB_s.

As tt \to \infty, XtX_t converges in distribution to N(μ,σ2/(2θ))\mathcal{N}(\mu, \sigma^2/(2\theta)).


Summary

Linear SDEs can be solved explicitly via Itô's formula and variation of constants, yielding closed-form expressions for key financial and physical models.