Related papers: A sharp bound for winning within a proportion of t…
This paper considers a variation of the full-information secretary problem where the random variables to be observed are independent but not necessary identically distributed. The main result is a sharp lower bound for the optimal win…
In the classical optimal stopping problem, a player is given a sequence of random variables $X_1\ldots X_n$ with known distributions. After observing the realization of $X_i$, the player can either accept the observed reward from $X_i$ and…
A central object in optimal stopping theory is the single-choice prophet inequality for independent, identically distributed random variables: Given a sequence of random variables $X_1,\dots,X_n$ drawn independently from a distribution $F$,…
We consider optimal stopping problems, in which a sequence of independent random variables is drawn from a known continuous density. The objective of such problems is to find a procedure which maximizes the expected reward; this is often…
In "Recognizing the Maximum of a Sequence", Gilbert and Mosteller analyze a full information game where n measurements from an uniform distribution are drawn and a player (knowing n) must decide at each draw whether or not to choose that…
Let X_t, 0<=t<=T be a one-dimensional stochastic process with independent and stationary increments. This paper considers the problem of stopping the process X_t "as close as possible" to its eventual supremum M_T:=sup{X_t: 0<=t<=T}, when…
We take a unifying approach to single selection optimal stopping problems with random arrival order and independent sampling of items. In the problem we consider, a decision maker (DM) initially gets to sample each of $N$ items…
The last success problem is an optimal stopping problem that aims to maximize the probability of stopping on the last success in a sequence of independent $n$ Bernoulli trials. In the classical setting where complete information about the…
Bruss's odds theorem \cite{Bruss1} addresses the problem of determining the optimal stopping time for sequences of independent indicator functions. In this note, we derive upper and lower bounds for the success probability under the optimal…
We study conditions under which $P(S_\tau>x)\sim P(M_\tau>x)\sim E\tau P(\xi_1>x)$ as $x\to\infty$, where $S_\tau$ is a sum $\xi_1+...+\xi_\tau$ of random size $\tau$ and $M_\tau$ is a maximum of partial sums $M_\tau=\max_{n\le\tau}S_n$.…
We consider the best-choice problem for independent (not necessarily iid) observations $X_1, \cdots, X_n$ with the aim of selecting the sample minimum. We show that in this full generality the monotone case of optimal stopping holds and the…
A curious connection exists between the theory of optimal stopping for independent random variables, and branching processes. In particular, for the branching process $Z_n$ with offspring distribution $Y$, there exists a random variable $X$…
In this article we derive the best possible upper bound for $E[\max{X_i}-\min_i{X_i}]$ under given means and variances on $n$ random variables $X_i$. The random vector $(X_1,...,X_n)$ is allowed to have any dependence structure, provided $E…
In a prophet inequality problem, $n$ independent random variables are presented to a gambler one by one. The gambler decides when to stop the sequence and obtains the most recent value as reward. We evaluate a stopping rule by the…
We present a new variant of the secretary problem. Let $A$ be a totally ordered set of $n$ \emph{applicants}. Given $P\subseteq A$ and $x\in A$, let $rr(P,x)=\vert\{z\in P \mid z\leq x\}\vert\mbox{ }$ be the \emph{relative rank of} $x$…
Given a standard Brownian motion $B^{\mu}=(B_t^{\mu})_{0\le t\le T}$ with drift $\mu \in \mathbb{R}$ and letting $S_t^{\mu}=\max_{0\le s\le t}B_s^{\mu}$ for $0\le t\le T$, we consider the optimal prediction problem: \[V=\inf_{0\le \tau \le…
Suppose $N$ independent Bernoulli trials are observed sequentially at random times of a mixed binomial process. The task is to maximise, by using a nonanticipating stopping strategy, the probability of stopping at the last success. We focus…
Fix some $n \in \mathbb{N}$ and let $X_1, X_2,\dots, X_n$ be independent random variables drawn from the uniform distribution on $[0,1]$. A decision maker is shown the variables sequentially and, after each observation, must decide whether…
Let $\{\xi_1,\xi_2,\ldots\}$ be a sequence of independent random variables, and $\eta$ be a counting random variable independent of this sequence. In addition, let $S_0:=0$ and $S_n:=\xi_1+\xi_2+\cdots+\xi_n$ for $n\geqslant1$. We consider…
Let $\xi_1,\xi_2,\ldots$ be independent, identically distributed random variables with infinite mean $\mathbf E[|\xi_1|]=\infty.$ Consider a random walk $S_n=\xi_1+\cdots+\xi_n$, a stopping time $\tau=\min\{n\ge 1: S_n\le 0\}$ and let…