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Estimation for the reaction term in semi-linear SPDEs under small diffusivity

We consider the estimation of a non-linear reaction term in the stochastic heat or more generally in a semi-linear stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE). Consistent inference is achieved by studying a small diffusivity level, which is realistic in applications. Our main result is a central limit theorem for the estimation error of a parametric estimator, from which confidence intervals can be constructed. Statistical efficiency is demonstrated by establishing local asymptotic normality. The estimation method is extended to local observations in time and space, which allows for non-parametric estimation of a reaction intensity varying in time and space. Furthermore, discrete observations in time and space can be handled. The statistical analysis requires advanced tools from stochastic analysis like Malliavin calculus for SPDEs, the infinite-dimensional Gaussian Poincaré inequality and regularity results for SPDEs in $L^p$-interpolation spaces.