Small-time expansions for the transition distributions of Lévy processes

Let X = (Xt)t≥0 be a Lévy process with absolutely continuous Lévy measure ν. Small time expansions of arbitrary polynomial order in t are obtained for the tails P (Xt ≥ y), y > 0, of the process, assuming smoothness conditions on the Lévy density away from the origin. By imposing additional regularity conditions on the transition density pt of Xt, an explicit expression for the remainder of the approximation is also given. As a byproduct, polynomial expansions of order n in t are derived for the transition densities of the process. The conditions imposed on pt require that, away from the origin, its derivatives remain uniformly bounded as t → 0. Such conditions are then shown to be satisfied for symmetric stable Lévy processes as well as some tempered stable Lévy processes such as the CGMY one. The expansions seem to correct asymptotics previously reported in the literature. AMS 2000 subject classifications: 60G51, 60F99.