A recently proposed alternative to multifractional Brownian motion (mBm) with random Hurst exponent is studied, which we refer to as Itô-mBm. It is shown that Itô-mBm is locally self-similar. In contrast to mBm, its pathwise regularity is almost unaffected by the roughness of the functional Hurst parameter. The pathwise properties are established via a new polynomial moment condition similar to the Kolmogorov-Chentsov theorem, allowing for random local Hölder exponents. Our results are applicable to a broad class of moving average processes where pathwise regularity and long memory properties may be decoupled, e.g. to a multifractional generalization of the Matérn process.
We define multifractional Hermite processes which generalize and extend both multifractional Brownian motion and Hermite processes. It is done by substituting the Hurst parameter in the definition of Hermite processes as a multiple Wiener-Itô integral by a Hurst function. Then, we study the pointwise regularity of these processes, their local asymptotic self-similarity and some fractal dimensions of their graph. Our results show that the fundamental properties of multifractional Hermite processes are, as desired, governed by the Hurst function. Complements are given in the second order Wiener …
The geometry of the multifractional Brownian motion (mBm) is known to present a complex and surprising form when the Hurst function is greatly irregular. Nevertheless, most of the literature devoted to the subject considers sufficiently smooth cases which lead to sample paths locally similar to a fractional Brownian motion (fBm). The main goal of this paper is therefore to extend these results to a more general frame and consider any type of continuous Hurst function. More specifically, we mainly focus on obtaining a complete characterization of the pointwise Hölder regularity of the sample pa…
We investigate here the Central Limit Theorem of the Increment Ratio Statistic of a multifractional Brownian motion, leading to a CLT for the time varying Hurst index. The proofs are quite simple relying on Breuer-Major theorems and an original freezing of time strategy. A simulation study shows the goodness of fit of this estimator.
We study the pointwise regularity of the Multifractional Brownian Motion and in particular, we get the existence of slow points. It shows that a non self-similar process can still enjoy this property. We also consider various extensions of our results in the aim of requesting a weaker regularity assumption for the Hurst function without altering the regularity of the process.
A first type of Multifractional Process with Random Exponent (MPRE) was constructed several years ago in (Ayache, Taqqu, 2005) by replacing in a wavelet series representation of Fractional Brownian Motion (FBM) the Hurst parameter by a random variable depending on the time variable. In the present article, we propose another approach for constructing another type of MPRE. It consists in substituting to the Hurst parameter, in a stochastic integral representation of the high-frequency part of FBM, a random variable depending on the integration variable. The MPRE obtained in this way offers, amo…
Let X be an arbitrary centered Gaussian process whose trajectories are, with probability one, continuous nowhere differentiable functions. It follows from a classical result, derived from zero-one law, that, with probability one, the trajectories of X have the same global Hölder regularity over any compact interval, that is the uniform Hölder exponent does not depend on the choice of a trajectory. A similar phenomenon happens with their local Hölder regularity measured through the local Hölder exponent. Therefore, it seems natural to ask the following question: does such a phenomenon also occu…
We study the small ball asymptotics problem in $L_2$ for two generalizations of the fractional Brownian motion with variable Hurst parameter. To this end, we perform careful analysis of the singular values asymptotics for associated integral operators.
We propose a new multifractional stochastic process which allows for self-exciting behavior, similar to what can be seen for example in earthquakes and other self-organizing phenomena. The process can be seen as an extension of a multifractional Brownian motion, where the Hurst function is dependent on the past of the process. We define this through a stochastic Volterra equation, and we prove existence and uniqueness of this equation, as well as give bounds on the p-order moments, for all p>=1. We show convergence of an Euler-Maruyama scheme for the process, and also give the rate of converge…
In this article we will present a new perspective on the variable order fractional calculus, which allows for differentiation and integration to a variable order, i.e. one differentiates (or integrates) a function along the path of a regularity function. The concept of multifractional calculus has been a scarcely studied topic within the field of functional analysis in the last 20 years. We develop a multifractional derivative operator which acts as the inverse of the multifractional integral operator. This is done by solving the Abel integral equation generalized to a multifractional order. W…
Since the middle of the 90's, multifractional processes have been introduced for overcoming some limitations of the classical Fractional Brownian Motion model. In their context, the Hurst parameter becomes a Holder continuous function H(?) of the time variable t. Linear Multifractional Stable Motion (LMSM) is the most known one of them with heavy-tailed distributions. Generally speaking, global and local sample path roughness of a multifractional process are determined by values of its parameter $H(\cdot)$; therefore, since about two decades, several authors have been interested in their stat…
This paper presents a new estimator of the global regularity index of a multifractional Brownian motion. Our estimation method is based upon a ratio statistic, which compares the realized global quadratic variation of a multifractional Brownian motion at two different frequencies. We show that a logarithmic transformation of this statistic converges in probability to the minimum of the Hurst function, which is, under weak assumptions, identical to the global regularity index of the path.
Stochastic calculus with respect to fractional Brownian motion (fBm) has attracted a lot of interest in recent years, motivated in particular by applications in finance and Internet traffic modeling. Multifractional Brownian motion (mBm) is a Gaussian extension of fBm that allows to control the pointwise regularity of the paths of the process and to decouple it from its long range dependence properties. This generalization is obtained by replacing the constant Hurst parameter H of fBm by a function h(t). Multifractional Brownian motion has proved useful in many applications, including the ones…
Multifractional Brownian motion is an extension of the well-known fractional Brownian motion where the Holder regularity is allowed to vary along the paths. In this paper, two kind of multi-parameter extensions of mBm are studied: one is isotropic while the other is not. For each of these processes, a moving average representation, a harmonizable representation, and the covariance structure are given. The Holder regularity is then studied. In particular, the case of an irregular exponent function H is investigated. In this situation, the almost sure pointwise and local Holder exponents of the …
This paper is devoted to establish an invariance principle where the limit process is a multifractional Gaussian process with a multifractional function which takes its values in $(1/2,1)$. Some properties, such as regularity and local self-similarity of this process are studied. Moreover the limit process is compared to the multifractional Brownian motion.
In Ayache and Taqqu (2005), the multifractional Brownian (mBm) motion is obtained by replacing the constant parameter $H$ of the fractional Brownian motion (fBm) by a smooth enough functional parameter $H(.)$ depending on the time $t$. Here, we consider the process $Z$ obtained by replacing in the wavelet expansion of the fBm the index $H$ by a function $H(.)$ depending on the dyadic point $k/2^j$. This process was introduced in Benassi et al (2000) to model fBm with piece-wise constant Hurst index and continuous paths. In this work, we investigate the case where the functional parameter satis…
This work defines two classes of processes, that we term {\it tempered fractional multistable motion} and {\it tempered multifractional stable motion}. They are extensions of fractional multistable motion and multifractional stable motion, respectively, obtained by adding an exponential tempering to the integrands. We investigate certain basic features of these processes, including scaling property, tail probabilities, absolute moment, sample path properties, pointwise Hölder exponent, Hölder continuity of quasi norm, (strong) localisability and semi-long-range dependence structure. These proc…
Denote by $H(t)=(H_1(t),...,H_N(t))$ a function in $t\in{\mathbb{R}}_+^N$ with values in $(0,1)^N$. Let $\{B^{H(t)}(t)\}=\{B^{H(t)}(t),t\in{\mathbb{R}}^N_+\}$ be an $(N,d)$-multifractional Brownian sheet (mfBs) with Hurst functional $H(t)$. Under some regularity conditions on the function $H(t)$, we prove the existence, joint continuity and the Hölder regularity of the local times of $\{B^{H(t)}(t)\}$. We also determine the Hausdorff dimensions of the level sets of $\{B^{H(t)}(t)\}$. Our results extend the corresponding results for fractional Brownian sheets and multifractional Brownian motion…
A class of Gaussian processes generalizing the usual fractional Brownian motion for Hurst indices in (1/2,1) and multifractal Brownian motion introduced in Ralchenko and Shevchenko (Theory Probab Math Stat 80, 2010) and Boufoussi et al. (Bernoulli 16(4), 2010) is presented. Any measurable function assuming values in this interval can now be chosen as a variable Hurst parameter. These processes allow for modeling of phenomena where the regularity properties can change with time either continuously or through jumps, such as in the volatility of a stock or in Internet traffic. Some properties of …
Using structures of Abstract Wiener Spaces, we define a fractional Brownian field indexed by a product space $(0,1/2] \times L^2(T,m)$, $(T,m)$ a separable measure space, where the first coordinate corresponds to the Hurst parameter of fractional Brownian motion. This field encompasses a large class of existing fractional Brownian processes, such as Lévy fractional Brownian motions and multiparameter fractional Brownian motions, and provides a setup for new ones. We prove that it has satisfactory incremental variance in both coordinates and derive certain continuity and Hölder regularity prope…
In this work, we investigate the fine regularity of Lévy processes using the 2-microlocal formalism. This framework allows us to refine the multifractal spectrum determined by Jaffard and, in addition, study the oscillating singularities of Lévy processes. The fractal structure of the latter is proved to be more complex than the classic multifractal spectrum and is determined in the case of alpha-stable processes. As a consequence of these fine results and the properties of the 2-microlocal frontier, we are also able to completely characterise the multifractal nature of the linear fractional s…
Fine regularity of stochastic processes is usually measured in a local way by local Hölder exponents and in a global way by fractal dimensions. Following a previous work of Adler, we connect these two concepts for multiparameter Gaussian random fields. More precisely, we prove that almost surely the Hausdorff dimensions of the range and the graph in any ball $B(t_0,ρ)$ are bounded from above using the local Hölder exponent at $t_0$. We define the deterministic local sub-exponent of Gaussian processes, which allows to obtain an almost sure lower bound for these dimensions. Moreover, the Hausdor…
A lot is known about the Hölder regularity of stochastic processes, in particular in the case of Gaussian processes. Recently, a finer analysis of the local regularity of functions, termed 2-microlocal analysis, has been introduced in a deterministic frame: through the computation of the so-called 2-microlocal frontier, it allows in particular to predict the evolution of regularity under the action of (pseudo-) differential operators. In this work, we develop a 2-microlocal analysis for the study of certain stochastic processes. We show that moments of the increments allow, under fairly genera…
In this paper we prove, for small Hurst parameters, the higher order differentiability of a stochastic flow associated with a stochastic differential equation driven by an additive multi-dimensional fractional Brownian noise, where the bounded variation part is given by the local time of the unknown solution process. The proof of this result relies on Fourier analysis based variational calculus techniques and on intrinsic properties of the fractional Brownian motion.
Let $B^{α_i}$ be an $(N_i,d)$-fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index ${α_i}$ ($i=1,2$), and let $B^{α_1}$ and $B^{α_2}$ be independent. We prove that, if $\frac{N_1}{α_1}+\frac{N_2}{α_2}>d$, then the intersection local times of $B^{α_1}$ and $B^{α_2}$ exist, and have a continuous version. We also establish Hölder conditions for the intersection local times and determine the Hausdorff and packing dimensions of the sets of intersection times and intersection points. One of the main motivations of this paper is from the results of Nualart and Ortiz-Latorre ({\it J. Theor. Probab.} {\bf 20} (…
In this paper, we study the Hölder regularity of set-indexed stochastic processes defined in the framework of Ivanoff-Merzbach. The first key result is a Kolmogorov-like Hölder-continuity Theorem, whose novelty is illustrated on an example which could not have been treated with anterior tools. Increments for set-indexed processes are usually not simply written as $X_U-X_V$, hence we considered different notions of Hölder-continuity. Then, the localization of these properties leads to various definitions of Hölder exponents, which we compare to one another. In the case of Gaussian processes, al…
{Let $B=(B_1(t),...,B_d(t))$ be a $d$-dimensional fractional Brownian motion with Hurst index $α<1/4$, or more generally a Gaussian process whose paths have the same local regularity. Defining properly iterated integrals of $B$ is a difficult task because of the low Hölder regularity index of its paths. Yet rough path theory shows it is the key to the construction of a stochastic calculus with respect to $B$, or to solving differential equations driven by $B$. We intend to show in a series of papers how to desingularize iterated integrals by a weak, singular non-Gaussian perturbation of the Ga…
We apply the techniques of stochastic integration with respect to fractional Brownian motion and the theory of regularity and supremum estimation for stochastic processes to study the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) for the drift parameter of stochastic processes satisfying stochastic equations driven by a fractional Brownian motion with any level of Hölder-regularity (any Hurst parameter). We prove existence and strong consistency of the MLE for linear and nonlinear equations. We also prove that a version of the MLE using only discrete observations is still a strongly consistent estimator.
Derivatives and integration operators are well-studied examples of linear operators that commute with scaling up to a fixed multiplicative factor; i.e., they are scale-invariant. Fractional order derivatives (integration operators) also belong to this family. In this paper, we extend the fractional operators to complex-order operators by constructing them in the Fourier domain. We analyze these operators in details with a special emphasis on the decay properties of the outputs. We further use these operators to introduce a family of complex-valued stable processes that are self-similar with co…
