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To overcome the curse of dimensionality and curse of modeling in Dynamic Programming (DP) methods for solving classical Markov Decision Process (MDP) problems, Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms are popular. In this paper, we consider…
We investigate the classical active pure exploration problem in Markov Decision Processes, where the agent sequentially selects actions and, from the resulting system trajectory, aims at identifying the best policy as fast as possible. We…
This paper considers large families of Markov chains (MCs) that are defined over a set of parameters with finite discrete domains. Such families occur in software product lines, planning under partial observability, and sketching of…
We study a general class of PageRank optimization problems which consist in finding an optimal outlink strategy for a web site subject to design constraints. We consider both a continuous problem, in which one can choose the intensity of a…
Move-to-front rule is a heuristic updating a list of n items according to requests. Items are required with unknown probabilities (or popularities). The induced Markov chain is known to be ergodic. One main problem is the study of the…
The recurrence features of persistent random walks built from variable length Markov chains are investigated. We observe that these stochastic processes can be seen as L{\'e}vy walks for which the persistence times depend on some internal…
Parametric Interval Markov Chains (pIMCs) are a specification formalism that extend Markov Chains (MCs) and Interval Markov Chains (IMCs) by taking into account imprecision in the transition probability values: transitions in pIMCs are…
In [ABM07], Abdulla et al. introduced the concept of decisiveness, an interesting tool for lifting good properties of finite Markov chains to denumerable ones. Later, this concept was extended to more general stochastic transition systems…
In the context of Markov decision processes running in continuous time, one of the most intriguing challenges is the efficient approximation of finite horizon reachability objectives. A multitude of sophisticated model checking algorithms…
A robust-to-dynamics optimization (RDO) problem is an optimization problem specified by two pieces of input: (i) a mathematical program (an objective function $f:\mathbb{R}^n\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ and a feasible set…
This paper studies the spread dynamics of a stochastic SIRS epidemic model with nonlinear incidence and varying population size, which is formulated as a piecewise deterministic Markov process. A threshold dynamic determined by the basic…
This paper aims at improving the convergence to equilibrium of finite ergodic Markov chains via permutations and projections. First, we prove that a specific mixture of permuted Markov chains arises naturally as a projection under the KL…
Consider the following multi-phase project management problem. Each project is divided into several phases. All projects enter the next phase at the same point chosen by the decision maker based on observations up to that point. Within each…
We consider the time-bounded reachability problem for continuous-time Markov decision processes. We show that the problem is decidable subject to Schanuel's conjecture. Our decision procedure relies on the structure of optimal policies and…
We study the SIRS (Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible) spreading processes over complex networks, by considering its exact $3^n$-state Markov chain model. The Markov chain model exhibits an interesting connection with its $2n$-state…
We derive an algorithm to compute satisfiability bounds for arbitrary {\omega}-regular properties in an Interval-valued Markov Chain (IMC) interpreted in the adversarial sense. IMCs generalize regular Markov Chains by assigning a range of…
In this paper we study Markov chains associated with the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm. We consider conditions under which the sequence of the successive densities of such a chain converges to the target density according to the total…
We consider the Markov chain approximations for singular stable-like processes. First we obtain properties of some Markov chains. Then we construct the approximating Markov chains and give a necessary condition for weak convergence of these…
Motivated by linear-quadratic optimal control problems (LQ problems, for short) for mean-field stochastic differential equations (SDEs, for short) with the coefficients containing regime switching governed by a Markov chain, we consider an…
Higher-order pushdown systems (PDSs) generalise pushdown systems through the use of higher-order stacks, that is, a nested "stack of stacks" structure. These systems may be used to model higher-order programs and are closely related to the…