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Why Differences of Correlated Brownian Integrals Form a Multivariate Normal Vector

Article Quant Q&A · Author: Strickland

Summary

The document asks whether a vector formed by subtracting sampled values of a process from one selected value is multivariate normal. The process combines a deterministic function with stochastic integrals against two correlated Brownian motions. The answer uses the characterization that a random vector is multivariate normal when every linear combination of its components is normal.

It rewrites the relevant linear combinations using adjacent time increments. Each increment is normally distributed because the correlated Brownian motions can be represented through independent Brownian motions using a Cholesky decomposition. Increments over disjoint time intervals are independent, so their linear combinations remain normal, establishing the claim. The reasoning assumes deterministic integrands with sufficient regularity and a valid correlated Brownian-motion model. The discussion also highlights that specifying only correlation at matching times is not, by itself, a full definition of a multidimensional Wiener process; joint Gaussian increments and their covariance structure matter.

Key ideas

  • A random vector is multivariate normal if every linear combination of its components is normally distributed.
  • Differences between sampled process values can be expressed through adjacent time increments.
  • Correlated Brownian motions can be represented using independent Brownian motions and a Cholesky decomposition.
  • Disjoint increments of the resulting process are independent, supporting the normality argument.
  • A multidimensional Wiener process requires assumptions about joint increments and covariance, beyond a correlation value alone.

Tags

Full text
# Vector of differences of Brownian motion integrals is multivariate normal


# Vector of differences of Brownian motion integrals is multivariate normal












Given a 2-dimensional Wiener process $(W_{1},W_{2})$ with correlation $\rho$.

Let \begin{equation*} X(t):= F(t) + \int_{0}^{t} f(s) dW_{1}(s) + \int_{0}^{t} g(s) dW_{2}(s)\end{equation*} for some nice enough deterministic functions $F$, $f$ and $g$. Let now $0<t_{1}<t_{2}<\ldots < t_{n+1}$ and $k\in\{1,2,\ldots,n+1 \}$. We define $X_{i}:=X(t_{i})$ and \begin{equation*} Y_{k}:= (X_{k}-X_{i})_{i\neq k}=(X_{k}-X_{1},\ldots,\widehat{X_{k}-X_{k}},\ldots,X_{k}-X_{n+1})\in\mathbb{R}^{n}. \end{equation*} I know would like to understand the following claim:

$Y_{k}$ has a multivariate normal distribution.

Any help or references would be appreciated very much.

As a follow-up:

I figured that the definition of 2-dimensional Wiener process $(W_{1},W_{2})$ with correlation $\rho$ is not quite clear to me. I assume that $W_{1}$ and $W_{2}$ being one-dimensional Wiener processes and $corr(W_{1}(t),W_{2}(t))=\rho$ is not enough, isn't it!?

I would assume that we have to assume that $(W_{1}(t),W_{2}(t))$ has a two-dimensional normal distribution with mean 0.

Generally, is there a standard definition for a n-dimensional Wiener process with correlation? If so, I would be happy to get some references.

Else, my guess would be that a n-dimensional stochastic process $W=(W_{1},\ldots,W_{n})$ is a n-dimensional process with:

- $W(0)=0$ a.s.

- $W_{t}$ a.s.-continuous

- increments are independent

- $W_{t}-W_{s}\sim N(0,\Sigma)$, for $t>s$

where

$\Sigma$ is a positive-definite and symmetric matrix with diagonal elements equal to $t-s$

## Answer by Gordon (score 1, accepted)

https://quant.stackexchange.com/a/35973

As noted above, the random vector $Y_k$ is multi-normal if for any combinations \begin{align*} \sum_{i\ne k} a_i (X_k-X_i) \tag{1} \end{align*} is normal. WLOG, we assume that $1<k<n+1$. Note that \begin{align*} \sum_{i\ne k} a_i (X_k-X_i) &=-\sum_{i\ne k}a_i X_i +X_k \sum_{i\ne k} a_i\\ &=-a_{n+1}(X_{n+1}-X_n)\\ &\quad -(a_{n+1}+a_n)(X_n-X_{n-1})\\ &\quad - \cdots \\ &\quad -\sum_{i=k+1}^{n+1} a_i(X_{k+1}-X_k)\\ &\quad +\sum_{i=1}^{k-1}a_i(K_k-X_{k-1})\\ &\quad +\cdots\\ &\quad +a_1(X_2-X_1). \end{align*} Since $(W_1, W_2)$ is a 2-dimensional Brownian motion, by Cholesky decomposition, \begin{align*} W_1(t) &= B_1(t),\\ W_2(t) &= \rho B_1(t) + \sqrt{1-\rho^2}B_2(t), \end{align*} where $B_1$ and $B_2$ are two independent Brownian motions. Then, for $i=2,\ldots, n+1$, \begin{align*} X_i-X_{i-1} &= F(t_i)-F(t_{i-1}) + \int_{t_{i-1}}^{t_i}f(s)dW_1(s) + \int_{t_{i-1}}^{t_i}g(s)dW_2(s)\\ &= F(t_i)-F(t_{i-1}) + \int_{t_{i-1}}^{t_i}(f(s)+\rho g(s))dB_1(s) + \int_{t_{i-1}}^{t_i}\sqrt{1-\rho^2}g(s)dB_2(s) \end{align*} is normal. Moreover, since \begin{align*} (X_2-X_1),\, \ldots, \, (X_{n+1}-X_n) \end{align*} are independent, their combinations \begin{align*} \sum_{i\ne k} a_i (X_k-X_i) \end{align*} is also normal. That is, $Y_k$ is multi-normal.

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This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.