How the Dupire Forward PDE Relates to the Black–Scholes PDE
Summary
The document distinguishes two related pricing equations. The Black–Scholes or local volatility PDE values one option with a fixed strike and maturity as time and the underlying price vary. The Dupire forward PDE instead describes vanilla option prices across strikes and maturities, given the current spot, and can be used to infer local volatility from option prices. This difference in what the equations vary helps explain why their derivative terms appear with different signs.
One response connects the equations through a duality: strike plays a role corresponding to spot, maturity corresponds to time with the derivative direction reversed, and the rate and dividend terms exchange roles. The discussion is conceptual rather than a full derivation; it gives no worked calculation or empirical evidence. It also does not develop the intuitive derivation requested, so readers seeking the detailed steps must consult a separate treatment of the dual equation.
Key ideas
- The Dupire forward PDE describes vanilla prices across strikes and maturities.
- The local volatility PDE describes one fixed-contract price across future times and spot levels.
- The sign difference is related to a duality between the equations, including a reversal between maturity and time derivatives.
- The responses outline the relationship but do not provide a complete derivation.
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# Dupire pricing equation derivation vs Black Scholes PDE
# Dupire pricing equation derivation vs Black Scholes PDE
I know the Dupire pricing equation is derived in similar way to Black Scholes PDE, but it is not exactly the same equation. Dupire equation reads:
$\boxed{\frac{\partial C}{\partial T} = \frac{\sigma^2(K,T)}{2} \; K^2 \frac{\partial^2 C}{\partial K^2} - (r - q)K \frac{\partial C}{\partial K} - qC}$
The main difference is that in BS equation the term multiplying the gamma is -1/2, wile in Dupire it is +1/2. Where does this difference comes from?
In John Hull book, the Black Scholes equation is derived in much intuitive way. Is there an intuitive way to derive Dupire equation as well?
## Answer by Quantuple (score 5)
https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/67973
The equation you mention is called Dupire Forward PDE. It allows you to compute the price of all vanillas of various strikes and maturities in one go, given the current spot price.
The Local Volatility pricing PDE is a different beast. It allows you to find the price of a single instrument (e.g. a vanilla of fixed strike and maturity $V(t,S) = C(t,S;K,T)$ ) at different future times (t) for different spot levels (S). The LV PDE is a direct generalisation of the BS PDE: $$ \frac{\partial V}{\partial t}(t,S) + \mu(t) S \frac{\partial V}{\partial S}(t,S) + \frac{1}{2} \sigma^2(t,S) S^2 \frac{\partial^2 V}{\partial S^2}(t,S) - r V(t,S) = 0 $$
## Answer by matthew miller (score 1)
https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/72061
This is due to the connection between the BS PDE and the dual of that equation, at some point you substitute d/dt with -d/dT.
So K becomes S, dividend yield q becomes risk-free rate r, maturity time T becomes t, d/dT becomes -d/dt. Then the Dupire PDE becomes the Black-Scholes-Merton equation.
See: https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.10380 The Black-Scholes-Merton dual equation, by Shuxin Guo and Qiang Liu, 2019Shown in full with attribution under the source's licence. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (Stack Exchange)
This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.