Diffusion process: Difference between revisions

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{{for|the marketing term|Diffusion of innovations}}

In [[probability theory]], a branch ofand [[mathematicsstatistics]], a '''diffusion process''' is a solution to a [[stochastic differential equation]]. It is a continuous-time [[Markov process]] with [[almost surely]] [[continuous function|continuous]] sample paths. [[Brownian motion]], [[reflected Brownian motion]] and [[Ornstein–Uhlenbeck processes]] are examples of diffusion processes.

A sample path of a diffusion process models the trajectory of a particle embedded in a flowing fluid and subjected to random displacements due to collisions with molecules, which is called [[Brownian motion]]. The position of the particle is then random; its [[probability density function]] as a [[function of space and time]] is governed by an [[advection equation|advection]]-[[diffusion equation]].