English

Feedback stopping rules in path-dependent controller-stopper games

Optimization and Control 2026-07-24 v1

Abstract

We investigate finite-horizon, zero-sum controller-stopper games in which the stopper observes the state process and implements a feedback stopping rule. Building on a nonlinear Snell envelope representation for a related game established in a companion paper, we prove that our game admits a value by extending the associated first-contact principle. Our approach is purely probabilistic and yields an optimal feedback stopping rule for path-dependent systems while allowing for degeneracy in the underlying stochastic differential equation (SDE). As an application, we consider nonzero-sum controller-stopper games and show that the optimal feedback stopping rule for a zero-sum game appears as a component of a ε\varepsilon-Nash equilibrium for every ε>0\varepsilon>0.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.22882,
  title  = {Feedback stopping rules in path-dependent controller-stopper games},
  author = {Magnus Perninge},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.22882},
  year   = {2026}
}