Brownian Bridge - Intuitive Remarks

Intuitive Remarks

A standard Wiener process satisfies W(0) = 0 and is therefore "tied down" to the origin, but other points are not restricted. In a Brownian bridge process on the other hand, not only is B(0) = 0 but we also require that B(1) = 0, that is the process is "tied down" at t = 1 as well. Just as a literal bridge is supported by pylons at both ends, a Brownian Bridge is required to satisfy conditions at both ends of the interval . (In a slight generalization, one sometimes requires B(t₁) = a and B(t₂) = b where t₁, t₂, a and b are known constants.)

Suppose we have generated a number of points W(0), W(1), W(2), W(3), etc. of a Wiener process path by computer simulation. It is now desired to fill in additional points in the interval, that is to interpolate between the already generated points W(0) and W(1). The solution is to use a Brownian bridge that is required to go through the values W(0) and W(1).