Back to results

Virginia Tech

The Reflected Quasipotential: Characterization and Exploration

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The Reflected Quasipotential V(x) is the solution to a variational problem that arises in the study of reflective Brownian motion. Specifically, the stationary distributions of reflected Brownian motion satisfy a large deviation principle (with respect to a spatial scaling parameter) with V(x) as the rate function. The Skorokhod Problem is an essential device in the construction and analysis of reflected Brownian motion and our value function V(x). Here we characterize V(x) as a solution to a partial differential equation H(DV(x))=0 in the positive n-dimensional orthant with appropriate boundary conditions. H(p) is the Hamiltonian and DV(x) is the gradient of V(x). V(x) is continuous but not differentiable in general. The characterization will need to be in terms of viscosity solutions. Solutions are not unique, thus additional qualifications will be needed for uniqueness. In order to prove our uniqueness result we consider a discounted version of V(x) in a truncated region and pass to the limit. In addition to this characterization of V(x) we explore the possibility of cyclic optimal paths in 3 dimensions.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mathematics
Department dc:contributor.department
Mathematics
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2013

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Farlow, Kasie Geralyn
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Day, Martin V.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Sun, Shu Ming
  • Haskell, Peter E.
  • Ball, Joseph A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:349
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/22020

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Farlow, Kasie Geralyn. The Reflected Quasipotential: Characterization and Exploration. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/22020