Book 16

when certain parameters in the problem tend to limiting values (for example, when the sample size increases indefinitely, the intensity of the noise ap proaches zero, etc.) To address the problem of asymptotically optimal estimators consider the following important case. Let X 1, X 2, ..., X n be independent observations with the joint probability density !(x, O) (with respect to the Lebesgue measure on the real line) which depends on the unknown patameter o e 9 c R1. It is required to derive the best (asymptotically) estimator 0: ( X b ..., X n) of the parameter O. The first question which arises in connection with this problem is how to compare different estimators or, equivalently, how to assess their quality, in terms of the mean square deviation from the parameter or perhaps in some other way. The presently accepted approach to this problem, resulting from A. Wald's contributions, is as follows: introduce a nonnegative function w(0l> ( ), Ob Oe 9 (the loss function) and given two estimators Of and O! n 2 2 the estimator for which the expected loss (risk) Eown(Oj, 0), j = 1 or 2, is smallest is called the better with respect to Wn at point 0 (here EoO is the expectation evaluated under the assumption that the true value of the parameter is 0). Obviously, such a method of comparison is not without its defects."

Book 66

Since the publication of the first edition of the present volume in 1980, the stochastic stability of differential equations has become a very popular subject of research in mathematics and engineering. To date exact formulas for the Lyapunov exponent, the criteria for the moment and almost sure stability, and for the existence of stationary and periodic solutions of stochastic differential equations have been widely used in the literature. In this updated volume readers will find important new results on the moment Lyapunov exponent, stability index and some other fields, obtained after publication of the first edition, and a significantly expanded bibliography.

This volume provides a solid foundation for students in graduate courses in mathematics and its applications. It is also useful for those researchers who would like to learn more about this subject, to start their research in this area or to study the properties of concrete mechanical systems subjected to random perturbations.