A class of path-valued Markov processes and its applications to superprocesses (Q1326303)

Let \((\xi_ s)\) be a continuous Markov process satisfying certain regularity assumptions. We introduce a path-valued strong Markov process associated with \((\xi_ s)\), which is closely related to the so-called superprocess with spatial motion \((\xi_ s)\). In particular, a subset \(H\) of the state space of \((\xi_ s)\) intersects the range of the superprocess if and only if the set of paths that hit \(H\) is not polar for the path-valued process. The latter property can be investigated by using the tools of the potential theory of symmetric Markov processes: A set is not polar if and only if it supports a measure of finite energy. The same approach can be applied to study sets that are polar for the graph of the superprocess. In the special case when \((\xi_ s)\) is a diffusion process, we recover certain results recently obtained by Dynkin.