Noncooperative facility location games

A noncooperative game theoretical approach is considered for the multifacility location problem. It turns out that the facility location game is a potential game in the sense of Monderer and Shapley and some properties of the game are studied.     

The Problem of Capacity Addition in Multi-user Elastic Demand Communication Networks

In this paper we consider some properties on prices under flow control in a network that is to be shared by noncooperative users. Each user is faced with an optimization problem which is formulated as the minimization of its own criterion subject to constraint on the flows of the other users. The operating points of the network are the Nash equilibria of the underlying routing game. Our objective is to study the behavior of prices of all users when the network designer needs to allocate capacities to network links. For parallel links topologies, we show that degradation of the performances such as prices will not take place, as well as the users may find it beneficial to improve their requests     

Game of two cars: Case of variable speed

A stochastic version of Isaacs's (Ref. 1) game of two cars is dealt with here. In this version, the pursuer, owing to thrust and drag forces, has a variable speed, whereas the evader's speed is constant. Also, the pursuer can maneuver as long as his speed is bounded by some lower and upper limits. The probability of interception, corresponding to optimal (saddle-point) feedback strategies, is computed and serves as a reference for evaluating the performance of four different versions of the proportional navigation pursuit law as well as two other strategies.     

Determination of colloidally-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fresh water using C18 solid phase extraction disks

A new application of reversed-phase octadecyl (C₁₈) solid phase extraction disks has been developed to separate the colloidally-associated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from those that were truly dissolved in the samples of fresh water. A correction for the retention of small amounts of colloidal material on the C₁₈ disks was required, which would have otherwise lead to minor underestimates in the degree of partitioning between the two phases. Using the humic substance Aldrich Humic Acid (AHA) as a model colloid and the 16 PAHs on the US Enrivonmental Protection Agency priority pollutant list, the partitioning coefficients of the PAHs between the colloidal and truly dissolved phases were shown to be proportional to the hydrophobicity of the PAHs, as measured by their octanol water partition coefficients (K_ow). The values for the partition coefficients obtained (cK_doc′) were similar to those previously reported in the literature using alternative methods, confirming that the technique was producing acceptable results. The technique allows the in situ partitioning of PAHs between the truly dissolved and colloidal phases in fresh water bodies to be determined. It will provide an invaluable cross-check of the laboratory-based methods which often require substantial manipulation of the sample and potentially alter the partitioning between the phases.     

The price of anarchy for non-atomic congestion games with symmetric cost maps and elastic demands

By showing that there is an upper bound for the price of anarchyρ(Γ) for a non-atomic congestion game Γ with only separable cost maps and fixed demands, Roughgarden and Tardos show that the cost of forgoing centralized control is mild. This letter shows that there is an upper bound for ρ(Γ) in Γ for fixed demands with symmetric cost maps. It also shows that there is a weaker bound for ρ(Γ) in Γ with elastic demands.     

Subgame Consistent Cooperative Solutions in Stochastic Differential Games

Subgame consistency is a fundamental element in the solution of cooperative stochastic differential games. In particular, it ensures that: (i) the extension of the solution policy to a later starting time and to any possible state brought about by the prior optimal behavior of the players would remain optimal; (ii) all players do not have incentive to deviate from the initial plan. In this paper, we develop a mechanism for the derivation of the payoff distribution procedures of subgame consistent solutions in stochastic differential games with transferable payoffs. The payoff distribution procedure of the subgame consistent solution can be identified analytically under different optimality principles. Demonstration of the use of the technique for specific optimality principles is shown with an explicitly solvable game. For the first time, analytically tractable solutions of cooperative stochastic differential games with subgame consistency are derived.     

An Approach to Fuzzy Noncooperative Nash Games

Systems that involve more than one decision maker are often optimized using the theory of games. In the traditional game theory, it is assumed that each player has a well-defined quantitative utility function over a set of the player decision space. Each player attempts to maximize/minimize his/her own expected utility and each is assumed to know the extensive game in full. At present, it cannot be claimed that the first assumption has been shown to be true in a wide variety of situations involving complex problems in economics, engineering, social and political sciences due to the difficulty inherent in defining an adequate utility function for each player in these types of problems. On the other hand, in many of such complex problems, each player has a heuristic knowledge of the desires of the other players and a heuristic knowledge of the control choices that they will make in order to meet their ends.In this paper, we utilize fuzzy set theory in order to incorporate the players' heuristic knowledge of decision making into the framework of conventional game theory or ordinal game theory. We define a new approach to N-person static fuzzy noncooperative games and develop a solution concept such as Nash for these types of games. We show that this general formulation of fuzzy noncooperative games can be applied to solve multidecision-making problems where no objective function is specified. The computational procedure is illustrated via application to a multiagent optimization problem dealing with the design and operation of future military operations.     

Multicriteria Goal Games

In this paper, we deal with multicriteria matrix games. Different solution concepts have been proposed to cope with these games. Recently, the concept of Pareto-optimal security strategy which assures the property of security in the individual criteria against an opponent's deviation in strategy has been introduced. However, the idea of security behind this concept is based on expected values, so that this security might be violated by mixed strategies when replications are not allowed. To avoid this inconvenience, we propose in this paper a new concept of solution for these games: the G-goal security strategy, which includes as part of the solution the probability of obtaining prespecified values in the payoff functions. Thus, attitude toward risk together with payoff values are considered jointly in the solution analysis.     

A four-parameter partition identity

We present a new partition identity and give a combinatorial proof of our result. This generalizes a result of Andrews in which he considers the generating function for partitions with respect to size, number of odd parts, and number of odd parts of the conjugate. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification Primary—05A17; Secondary—11P81     

Recursive solution of linear-quadratic Nash games for weakly interconnected systems

A recursive method is developed for the solution of coupled algebraic Riccati equations and corresponding linear Nash strategies of weakly interconnected systems. It is shown that the given algorithm converges to the exact solution with the rate of convergence ofO(²), where is a small coupling parameter. In addition, only low-order systems are involved in algebrdic computations; the amount of computations required does not grow per iteration and no analyticity assumption is imposed on the system coefficients.This work was supported by Rutgers University Research Council under Grant No. 2-02188.