[Math] Show that a process is a local martingale

local-martingalesmartingalesprobability theorystochastic-calculusstochastic-processes

We have the following setting

We have a 2-dimensional Brownian motion $(X,Y)$, and we define the process $M_t$ as $$M_t=e^{X_t}\cos(Y_t)$$

The problem is to show that the process $M_t$ is a local martingale, and that we have that $$\langle M\rangle_t=\int^t_0e^{X_s}ds$$

I know that $M_t$ would be a local martingale if it is a continuous, adapted process and if there exists a sequence of stopping times $(\tau_n)_{n\geq0}$, such that $\tau_n\uparrow\infty$ almost surely, and that $(M_{\tau_n\wedge t}-M_0)_{t\geq0}$ is a uniformly integrable martingale for all $n$.

However, I am not aware of any straight forward way to proving that something is a local martingale, and I do not see an easy approach to proving it directly from the definition. Are there ''standard'' routes to follow when trying to prove that a process is/isn't a local martingale?

Moreover, when trying to show that the quadratic variation of $M$ can be written in such a way, I cannot figure out why the cosine term would drop out.

Any help is appreciated!

Best Answer

If we apply Ito's lemma to the function $f(x,y) = e^x \cos(y)$ you'll find that $$dM_t = M_t dX_t - e^{X_t} \sin(Y_t) dY_t$$ since $\langle X \rangle_t = \langle Y \rangle_t = t$ and $\langle X,Y \rangle_t = 0$. Since the stochastic integral against a continuous local martingale is again a local martingale, this shows that $M_t$ is a continuous local martingale. We also deduce from this that $$d \langle M \rangle_t = M_t^2 d \langle X \rangle_t + e^{2X_t} \sin(Y_t)^2 d\langle X \rangle_t = e^{2X_t} (\cos^2(Y_t) + \sin^2(Y_t))dt = e^{2X_t} dt$$ (where we have again used that $\langle X,Y \rangle_t = 0$) and so $$\langle M \rangle_t = \int_0^t e^{2X_s} ds$$