Fractional Brownian motions via random walk in the complex plane and via fractional derivative. Comparison and further results on their Fokker–Planck equations

Abstract There are presently two different models of fractional Brownian motions available in the literature: the Riemann–Liouville fractional derivative of white noise on the one hand, and the complex-valued Brownian motion of order n defined by using a random walk in the complex plane, on the other hand. The paper provides a comparison between these two approaches, and in addition, takes this opportunity to contribute some complements. These two models are more or less equivalent on the theoretical standpoint for fractional order between 0 and 1/2, but their practical significances are quite different. Otherwise, for order larger than 1/2, the fractional derivative model has no counterpart in the complex plane. These differences are illustrated by an example drawn from mathematical finance. Taylor expansion of fractional order provides the expression of fractional difference in terms of finite difference, and this allows us to improve the derivation of Fokker–Planck equation and Kramers–Moyal expansion, and to get more insight in their relation with stochastic differential equations of fractional order. In the case of multi-fractal systems, the Fokker–Planck equation can be solved by using path integrals, and the fractional dynamic equations of the state moments of the stochastic system can be easily obtained. By combining fractional derivative and complex white noise of order n , one obtains a family of complex-valued fractional Brownian motions which exhibits long-range dependence. The conclusion outlines suggestions for further research, mainly regarding Lorentz transformation of fractional noises.