Simultaneous Optimal Controls for Non-Stationary Stokes Systems

This paper deal with optimal control problems for a non-stationary Stokes system. We study a simultaneous distributed-boundary optimal control problem with distributed observation. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a simultaneous optimal control and we give the first order optimality condition for this problem. We also consider a distributed optimal control problem and a boundary optimal control problem and we obtain estimations between the simultaneous optimal control and the optimal controls of these last ones. Finally, some regularity results are presented.     

Optimal dual frames for erasures II

We continue the investigation on optimal dual frames for erasures. We obtain an necessary and sufficient condition under which the canonical dual frames are the unique optimal dual frames for erasures. We examine several special simple conditions under which the canonical dual is either not optimal or it is optimal dual but not unique one.     

Optimal investment, consumption and retirement choice problem with disutility and subsistence consumption constraints

In this paper we consider a general optimal consumption-portfolio selection problem of an infinitely-lived agent whose consumption rate process is subject to subsistence constraints before retirement. That is, her consumption rate should be greater than or equal to some positive constant before retirement. We integrate three optimal decisions which are the optimal consumption, the optimal investment choice and the optimal stopping problem in which the agent chooses her retirement time in one model. We obtain the explicit forms of optimal policies using a martingale method and a variational inequality arising from the dual function of the optimal stopping problem. We treat the optimal retirement time as the first hitting time when her wealth exceeds a certain wealth level which will be determined by a free boundary value problem and duality approaches. We also derive closed forms of the optimal wealth processes before and after retirement. Some numerical examples are presented for the case of constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility class.     

Sensitivity of constrained Markov decision processes

We consider the optimization of finite-state, finite-action Markov decision processes under constraints. Costs and constraints are of the discounted or average type, and possibly finite-horizon. We investigate the sensitivity of the optimal cost and optimal policy to changes in various parameters. We relate several optimization problems to a generic linear program, through which we investigate sensitivity issues. We establish conditions for the continuity of the optimal value in the discount factor. In particular, the optimal value and optimal policy for the expected average cost are obtained as limits of the dicounted case, as the discount factor goes to one. This generalizes a well-known result for the unconstrained case. We also establish the continuity in the discount factor for certain non-stationary policies. We then discuss the sensitivity of optimal policies and optimal values to small changes in the transition matrix and in the instantaneous cost functions. The importance of the last two results is related to the performance of adaptive policies for constrained MDP under various cost criteria [3,5]. Finally, we establish the convergence of the optimal value for the discounted constrained finite horizon problem to the optimal value of the corresponding infinite horizon problem.     

一类由抛物-双曲耦合组支配的边界最优控制问题

本文讨论了一类由抛物-双曲耦合组支配的第三边值最优控制问题.证明了该问题最优控制的存在性及其bang-bang性质.     

A note on optimal stopping of diffusions with a two-sided optimal rule

We consider a class of optimal stopping problems of diffusions with a two-sided optimal rule. We propose an approach for finding and characterizing the solution. We establish that the optimal stopping rule can be associated with the unique fixed point of an auxiliary function. The results are illustrated with an explicit example.     

不确定性对混合CVaR约束库存系统的影响

运用应用概率中的随机占优研究需求不确定性对混合CVaR约束库存系统最优订购量和最优利润的影响。引入刻画决策者风险态度的“风险偏好系数”,得到系统最优订购量和最优利润关于风险偏好系数的单调性。研究表明随机大需求总会导致系统较高的最优订购量和最优利润;在割准则序意义下,最优订购量可能随需求可变性的增加而增加也可能随需求可变性的增加而减少;在二阶随机占优且风险偏好系数大于等于1的情况下系统最优利润具有随机单调性,然而当风险偏好系数小于1时最优利润在二阶随机占优意义下的结论不一定成立,我们通过一个数值例子来说明。     

Optimal server scheduling in nonpreemptive finite-population queueing systems

We consider a finite-population queueing system with heterogeneous classes of customers and a single server. For the case of nonpreemptive service, we fully characterize the structure of the server's optimal service policy that minimizes the total average customer waiting costs. We show that the optimal service policy may never serve some classes of customers. For those classes that are served, we show that the optimal service policy is a simple static priority policy. We also derive sufficient conditions that determine the optimal priority sequence.     

THE FOREST ROTATION PROBLEM WITH STOCHASTIC HARVEST AND AMENITY VALUE

ABSTRACT. We present a general approach to study optimal rotation policy with amenity valuationunder stochastic forest stand value. We state a set of weak conditions under which a unique optimal harvesting threshold exists and derive the value of the optimal policy. We characterize the impact of forest stand value volatility on both the total and the marginal expected cumulative present value of the revenues accrued from amenities. We also illustrate our results numerically and find that depending on the precise characteristics of amenity valuation higher forest stand value volatility may accelerate the rotation policy by decreasing the optimal harvesting threshold.     

Optimal time-decay rates of the Boltzmann equation

We consider the optimal time-convergence rates of the global solution to the Cauchy problem for the Boltzmann equation in R3.We show that the global solution tends to the global Maxwellian at the optimal time-decay rate(1+t)-3/4,where the macroscopic density,momentum and energy decay at the optimal rate(1+t)-3/4 and the microscopic part decays at the optimal rate(1+t)-5/4.We also show that the solution tends to the Maxwellian at the optimal time-decay rate(1+t).5/4 in the case of the macroscopic part of the initial data is zero,where the macroscopic density,momentum and energy decay at the optimal rate(1+t)-5/4 and the microscopic part decays at the optimal rate(1+t)-7/4.These convergence rates are shown to be optimal for the Boltzmann equation.     

Optimal Policies for Investment with Time-Varying Return Distributions

We develop a model in which investors must learn the distribution of asset returns over time. The process of learning is made more difficult by the fact that the distributions are not constant through time. We consider risk-neutral investors who have quadratic utility and are selecting between two risky assets. We determine the time at which it is optimal to update the distribution estimate and hence, alter portfolio weights. Our results deliver an optimal policy for asset allocation, that is, the sequence of time intervals at which it is optimal to switch between assets, based on stochastic optimal control theory. In addition, we determine the time intervals in which asset switching leads to a loss with high probability. We provide estimates of the effectiveness of the optimal policy.     

Reflected BSDEs and robust optimal stopping for dynamic risk measures with jumps

We study the optimal stopping problem for dynamic risk measures represented by Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (BSDEs) with jumps and its relation with reflected BSDEs (RBSDEs). The financial position is given by an RCLL adapted process. We first state some properties of RBSDEs with jumps when the obstacle process is RCLL only. We then prove that the value function of the optimal stopping problem is characterized as the solution of an RBSDE. The existence of optimal stopping times is obtained when the obstacle is left-upper semi-continuous along stopping times. Finally, we investigate robust optimal stopping problems related to the case with model ambiguity and their links with mixed control/optimal stopping game problems. We prove that, under some hypothesis, the value function is equal to the solution of an RBSDE. We then study the existence of saddle points when the obstacle is left-upper semi-continuous along stopping times.     

The Optimal Control of a Train

We consider the problem of determining an optimal driving strategy in a train control problem with a generalised equation of motion. We assume that the journey must be completed within a given time and seek a strategy that minimises fuel consumption. On the one hand we consider the case where continuous control can be used and on the other hand we consider the case where only discrete control is available. We pay particular attention to a unified development of the two cases. For the continuous control problem we use the Pontryagin principle to find necessary conditions on an optimal strategy and show that these conditions yield key equations that determine the optimal switching points. In the discrete control problem, which is the typical situation with diesel-electric locomotives, we show that for each fixed control sequence the cost of fuel can be minimised by finding the optimal switching times. The corresponding strategies are called strategies of optimal type and in this case we use the Kuhn–Tucker equations to find key equations that determine the optimal switching times. We note that the strategies of optimal type can be used to approximate as closely as we please the optimal strategy obtained using continuous control and we present two new derivations of the key equations. We illustrate our general remarks by reference to a typical train control problem.     

Optimal maintenance of systems with Markovian mission and deterioration

We consider the maintenance of a mission-based system that is designed to perform missions consisting of a random sequence of phases or stages with random durations. A finite state Markov process describes the mission process. The age or deterioration process of the system is described by another finite state Markov process whose generator depends on the phases of the mission. We discuss optimal repair and optimal replacement problems, and characterize the optimal policies under some monotonicity assumptions. We also provide numerical illustrations to demonstrate the structure of the optimal policies.     

An entry-exit model involving construction and abandonment periods

We analyze, using the optimal stopping theory, the entry-exit decision on a project, which takes time to be constructed and abandoned. We obtain the closed-form expressions of optimal start time of entry, optimal start time of exit, and the maximal expected present value of the project. In addition, we examine the effects of construction and abandonment periods on the optimal start times of entry and exit.     

On the existence of optimal controls for nonlinear infinite dimensional systems

We consider nonlinear systems with a priori feedback. We establish the existence of admissible pairs and then we show that the Lagrange optimal control problem admits an optimal pair. As application we work out in detail two examples of optimal control problems for nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations.     

Optimal portfolio, consumption and retirement decision under a preference change

We investigate an optimal portfolio, consumption and retirement decision problem in which an economic agent can determine the discretionary stopping time as a retirement time with constant labor wage and disutility. We allow the preference of the agent to be changed before and after retirement. It is assumed that the agent's coefficient of relative risk aversion becomes higher after retirement. Under a constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) utility function, we obtain the optimal policies in closed-forms using martingale methods and variational inequality methods. We give some numerical results of the optimal policies. We also consider the relation between the level of disutility and the labor wage with the optimal retirement wealth level.     

Optimal growth with investment enhancing labor

We study a non-convex optimal growth problem with investment enhancing labor. We prove that there exists an optimal growth path, that all optimal paths are interior and we provide a condition under which at least one of them is monotonic. We also study the existence and uniqueness of the steady state. We show in particular that a rise in the efficiency of the investment enhancing labor does not necessarily lead to an increase in the steady state value of this labor. Furthermore we provide a complete study of the dynamics of the optimal solution in the special case of a logarithmic utility function and a Cobb–Douglas production function.     

Algorithms for uniform optimal strategies in two-player zero-sum stochastic games with perfect information

We deal with zero-sum two-player stochastic games with perfect information. We propose two algorithms to find the uniform optimal strategies and one method to compute the optimality range of discount factors. We prove the convergence in finite time for one algorithm. The uniform optimal strategies are also optimal for the long run average criterion and, in transient games, for the undiscounted criterion as well.