Escape Probability for Stochastic Dynamical Systems with Jumps

The escape probability is a deterministic concept that quantifies some aspects of stochastic dynamics. This issue has been investigated previously for dynamical systems driven by Gaussian Brownian motions. The present work considers escape probabilities for dynamical systems driven by non-Gaussian Lévy motions, especially symmetric $\alpha$-stable Lévy motions. The escape probabilities are characterized as solutions of the Balayage-Dirichlet problems of certain partial differential-integral equations. Differences between escape probabilities for dynamical systems driven by Gaussian and non-Gaussian noises are highlighted. In certain special cases, analytic results for escape probabilities are given.