On what grounds can one reasonably expect that a complex financial contract solving a complex real-world issue does not deserve the same thorough scientific treatment as an aeroplane wing or a micro-proces sor? Only ignorance would suggest such an idea. E. Briys and F. De Varenne The objective of this book is to give a self-contained presentation of that part of mathematical finance devoted to the pricing of derivative instruments. During the past two decades the pricing of financial derivatives - or more generally: mathematical finance - has steadily won in importance both within the...