Girsanov's Theorem states that is a -Brownian motion. This derivation note carries out the proof in two ways:
- Direct : compute the conditional moment generating function of under and show it matches the MGF of .
- Lévy characterisation (Karatzas method): show is a continuous -local martingale with , then apply Lévy's characterisation to conclude it is a -BM.
The Lévy method is shorter and generalises more easily to the local martingale form. It also shows exactly which properties of need to be checked — quadratic variation and the local martingale property — making it clear why (the diffusion coefficient) is unchanged.
In this lesson
- Setup
- Proof 1: Conditional MGF
- Proof 2: Lévy Characterisation (Karatzas)
- Why the Diffusion is Unchanged
- Bayes Formula Under
Before you start
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