Strong stability of Nash equilibria in load balancing games

We study strong stability of Nash equilibria in load balancing games of m(m 2)identical servers,in which every job chooses one of the m servers and each job wishes to minimize its cost,given by the workload of the server it chooses.A Nash equilibrium(NE)is a strategy profile that is resilient to unilateral deviations.Finding an NE in such a game is simple.However,an NE assignment is not stable against coordinated deviations of several jobs,while a strong Nash equilibrium(SNE)is.We study how well an NE approximates an SNE.Given any job assignment in a load balancing game,the improvement ratio(IR)of a deviation of a job is defined as the ratio between the pre-and post-deviation costs.An NE is said to be aρ-approximate SNE(ρ1)if there is no coalition of jobs such that each job of the coalition will have an IR more thanρfrom coordinated deviations of the coalition.While it is already known that NEs are the same as SNEs in the 2-server load balancing game,we prove that,in the m-server load balancing game for any given m 3,any NE is a(5/4)-approximate SNE,which together with the lower bound already established in the literature yields a tight approximation bound.This closes the final gap in the literature on the study of approximation of general NEs to SNEs in load balancing games.To establish our upper bound,we make a novel use of a graph-theoretic tool.     

Probabilities of Pure Nash Equilibria in Matrix Games when the Payoff Entries of One Player Are Randomly Selected

The Nash equilibrium in pure strategies represents an important solution concept in nonzero sum matrix games. Existence of Nash equilibria in games with known and with randomly selected payoff entries have been studied extensively. In many real games, however, a player may know his own payoff entries but not the payoff entries of the other player. In this paper, we consider nonzero sum matrix games where the payoff entries of one player are known, but the payoff entries of the other player are assumed to be randomly selected. We are interested in determining the probabilities of existence of pure Nash equilibria in such games. We characterize these probabilities by first determining the finite space of ordinal matrix games that corresponds to the infinite space of matrix games with random entries for only one player. We then partition this space into mutually exclusive spaces that correspond to games with no Nash equilibria and with r Nash equilibria. In order to effectively compute the sizes of these spaces, we introduce the concept of top-rated preferences minimal ordinal games. We then present a theorem which provides a mechanism for computing the number of games in each of these mutually exclusive spaces, which then can be used to determine the probabilities. Finally, we summarize the results by deriving the probabilities of existence of unique, nonunique, and no Nash equilibria, and we present an illustrative example.     

Existence of value in pursuit-evasion games with restricted phase coordinates

Almost all results referring to the problem of the existence of a value in differential games concern games without restricted phase coordinates. In this paper, we introduce a concept of value for differential games of pursuit and evasion and prove, under some general assumption, the existence of it. The players are required to satisfy some general phase constraints. The arguments employed in this paper are based on some extent on Krasovskii's method of extremal construction. We also show that the lower value in the Friedman sense is a generalization of our value. In a special linear case, the equivalence between pursuit differential games and time-optimal control problems is established.     

多目标大博弈中弱Pareto-Berge均衡的存在性

研究了具有任意多个局中人的非合作多目标博弈(多目标大博弈).基于一般非合作博弈中的Berge均衡概念,定义多目标大博弈中的弱Pareto-Berge均衡.进一步推广了截口定理,得到新的截口定理,并且利用这个新的截口定理证明多目标大博弈中弱Pareto-Berge均衡的存在性.多目标大博弈中弱Pareto-Nash均衡的存在性结论可作为弱Pareto-Berge均衡存在性的特例给出.     

Absolute optimal solution for a compact and convex game

This paper investigates the existence of absolute optimal solutions for a partition P in continuous and quasiconcave games. We show that the P-consistency property introduced in the paper, together with the quasiconcavity and continuity of payoffs, permits the existence of P-absolute optimal solutions in games with compact and convex strategy spaces. The P-consistency property is a general condition that cannot be dispensed with for the existence of P-absolute optimal solutions. We also characterize the existence of P-absolute optimal solutions by providing necessary and sufficient conditions. Moreover, we suggest an algorithm for efficiently computing P-absolute optimal solutions.     

Inequalities and Nash equilibria

This paper concentrates on the problem of the existence of equilibrium points for non-cooperative generalized N-person games, N-person games of normal form and their related inequalities. We utilize the K-K-M lemma to obtain a theorem and then use it to obtain a new Fan-type inequality and minimax theorems. Various new equilibrium point theorems are derived, with the necessary and sufficient conditions and with strategy spaces with no fixed point property. Examples are given to demonstrate that these existence theorems cover areas where other existence theorems break down.     

Denumerable state stochastic games with limiting average payoff

We study stochastic games with countable state space, compact action spaces, and limiting average payoff. ForN-person games, the existence of an equilibrium in stationary strategies is established under a certain Liapunov stability condition. For two-person zero-sum games, the existence of a value and optimal strategies for both players are established under the same stability condition.The authors wish to thank Prof. T. Parthasarathy for pointing out an error in an earlier version of this paper. M. K. Ghosh wishes to thank Prof. A. Arapostathis and Prof. S. I. Marcus for their hospitality and support.     

Two-player stochastic games I: A reduction

This paper is the first step in the proof of existence of equilibrium payoffs for two-player stochastic games with finite state and action sets. It reduces the existence problem to the class of so-called positive absorbing recursive games. The existence problem for this class is solved in a subsequent paper.     

Pure strategy equilibria in symmetric two-player zero-sum games

We observe that a symmetric two-player zero-sum game has a pure strategy equilibrium if and only if it is not a generalized rock-paper-scissors matrix. Moreover, we show that every finite symmetric quasiconcave two-player zero-sum game has a pure equilibrium. Further sufficient conditions for existence are provided. Our findings extend to general two-player zero-sum games using the symmetrization of zero-sum games due to von Neumann. We point out that the class of symmetric two-player zero-sum games coincides with the class of relative payoff games associated with symmetric two-player games. This allows us to derive results on the existence of finite population evolutionary stable strategies.     

Existence of nash equilibria for constrained stochastic games

In this paper, we consider constrained noncooperative N-person stochastic games with discounted cost criteria. The state space is assumed to be countable and the action sets are compact metric spaces. We present three main results. The first concerns the sensitivity or approximation of constrained games. The second shows the existence of Nash equilibria for constrained games with a finite state space (and compact actions space), and, finally, in the third one we extend that existence result to a class of constrained games which can be “approximated” by constrained games with finitely many states and compact action spaces. Our results are illustrated with two examples on queueing systems, which clearly show some important differences between constrained and unconstrained games.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary: 91A15. 91A10; Secondary: 90C40     

Sensitive equilibria for ergodic stochastic games with countable state spaces

We consider stochastic games with countable state spaces and unbounded immediate payoff functions. Our assumptions on the transition structure of the game are based on a recent work by Meyn and Tweedie [19] on computable bounds for geometric convergence rates of Markov chains. The main results in this paper concern the existence of sensitive optimal strategies in some classes of zero-sum stochastic games. By sensitive optimality we mean overtaking or 1-optimality. We also provide a new Nash equilibrium theorem for a class of ergodic nonzero-sum stochastic games with denumerable state spaces.     

Strong equilibria in games with the lexicographical improvement property

We study a class of finite strategic games with the property that every deviation of a coalition of players that is profitable to each of its members strictly decreases the lexicographical order of a certain function defined on the set of strategy profiles. We call this property the lexicographical improvement property (LIP) and show that, in finite games, it is equivalent to the existence of a generalized strong potential function. We use this characterization to derive existence, efficiency and fairness properties of strong equilibria (SE). As our main result, we show that an important class of games that we call bottleneck congestion games has the LIP and thus the above mentioned properties. For infinite games, the LIP does neither imply the existence of a generalized strong potential nor the existence of SE. We therefore introduce the slightly more general concept of the pairwise LIP and prove that whenever the pairwise LIP is satisfied for a continuous function, then there exists a SE. As a consequence, we show that splittable bottleneck congestion games with continuous facility cost functions possess a SE.     

A cooperative location game based on the 1-center location problem

In this paper we introduce and analyze new classes of cooperative games related to facility location models defined on general metric spaces. The players are the customers (demand points) in the location problem and the characteristic value of a coalition is the cost of serving its members. Specifically, the cost in our games is the service radius of the coalition. We call these games the Minimum Radius Location Games (MRLG).We study the existence of core allocations and the existence of polynomial representations of the cores of these games, focusing on network spaces, i.e., finite metric spaces induced by undirected graphs and positive edge lengths, and on the ?_p metric spaces defined over R^d.     

A multistage pursuit-evasion game that admits a gaussian random process as a maximin control policy

In this paper we consider the existence and structure of both minimax and maximin policies for the special class of LQG pursuit-evasion games which is characterized by (i) a blind evader; and (ii) a pursuer who can make use of noise corrupted state measurements. The particular class of games which we consider has been studied previously by other investigators who have shown that pure strategies exist for both players. The major contribution of our paper is the delineation of the existence and structure of a mixed strategy for the evader in this class of games. This new maximin strategy is defined by a gaussian measure, which can be determined explicitly by the method of least favorable prior distributions. We show that the validity of the pure solutions determined previously is limited by the duration of the game, due to the existence of a ‘pure solution conjugate point’; further, we prove that our new strategies are valid solutions which extend the possible duration of the game beyond the limit imposed by the pure solution conjugate point. We believe that our paper constitutes the first report on the existence of a mixed strategy for an LQG game, and the first report on the role conjugate points play in the transition between pure strategies and mixed strategies.     

Cooperative location games based on the minimum diameter spanning Steiner subgraph problem

In this paper we introduce and analyze new classes of cooperative games related to facility location models. The players are the customers (demand points) in the location problem and the characteristic value of a coalition is the cost of serving its members. Specifically, the cost in our games is the service diameter of the coalition.We study the existence of core allocations for these games, focusing on network spaces, i.e., finite metric spaces induced by undirected graphs and positive edge lengths.     

Individual and group stability in neutral restrictions of hedonic games

We consider a class of coalition formation games called hedonic games, i.e., games in which the utility of a player is completely determined by the coalition that the player belongs to. We first define the class of subset-additive hedonic games and show that they have the same representation power as the class of hedonic games. We then define a restriction of subset-additive hedonic games that we call subset-neutral hedonic games and generalize a result by Bogomolnaia and Jackson (2002) by showing the existence of a Nash stable partition and an individually stable partition in such games. We also consider neutrally anonymous hedonic games and show that they form a subclass of the subset-additive hedonic games. Finally, we show the existence of a core stable partition that is also individually stable in neutrally anonymous hedonic games by exhibiting an algorithm to compute such a partition.     

一种n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在性判别法

本首先给出了n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在的充要条件。然后给出n人静态博弈纯策略纳什均衡存在性的一种判别方法。最后在判别纯策略纳什均衡存在的条件下，给出判定该静态博弈存在多少纯策略纳什均衡以及哪些纯策略组合是纯策略纳什均衡(解)的方法。     

On sensitivity in an optimal control problem

We give a new criterion for the existence of value in differential games. The method of proof involves Lipschitz differential games and hence extends to games with more general dynamics. The connection between using measurable control functions or simply constants is clarified.     

具有区间联盟值n人对策的Shapley值

本文提出了一类具有区间联盟收益值n人对策的Shapley值.利用区间数运算有关理论,通过建立公理化体系,对具有区间联盟收益值n人对策的Shapley值进行深入研究,证明了这类n人对策Shapley值存在性与唯一性,并给出了此Shapley值的具体表达式及一些性质.最后通过一个算例检验了其有效性与正确性.