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Showing a hyperbolic cosine of W is a martingale

Question

Let WW be standard Brownian motion and λ\lambda a constant. Prove that Xt=e−λ2t/2cosh⁡(λWt)X_t=e^{-\lambda^2t/2}\cosh(\lambda W_t) is a martingale.

Short answer

It is the average of two exponential martingales. Since cosh⁡y=12(ey+e−y)\cosh y=\tfrac12(e^y+e^{-y}), Xt=12(eλWt−λ2t/2+e−λWt−λ2t/2)X_t=\tfrac12\big(e^{\lambda W_t-\lambda^2t/2}+e^{-\lambda W_t-\lambda^2t/2}\big), and each term is a martingale. Equivalently, for f(t,w)=e−λ2t/2cosh⁡(λw)f(t,w)=e^{-\lambda^2t/2}\cosh(\lambda w) one checks ft+12fww=0f_t+\tfrac12f_{ww}=0, so Ito's formula has no dtdt term (and integrability is fine).

Adapted from Joshi, Denson & Downes, Quant Job Interview Questions and Answers, Q3.45, p.85; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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