Problem bank

Problem 211 of 333MediumFinanceP211

Digital call from the heat equation

  1. A cash-or-nothing call pays $1 at time TT if ST>KS_T > K. After the usual substitutions its Black-Scholes value is V=e−rτw(z,τ)V = e^{-r\tau}w(z,\tau), where ww solves wτ=12σ2wzzw_\tau = \tfrac12\sigma^2 w_{zz}, z=ln⁡S+(r−12σ2)τz = \ln S + (r - \tfrac12\sigma^2)\tau, and w(z,0)=1w(z,0) = 1 for z>ln⁡Kz > \ln K and 00 otherwise.

    Solve for ww and price the digital with S=K=100S = K = 100, r=5%r = 5\%, σ=20%\sigma = 20\%, τ=1\tau = 1.