Related papers: On a connection between total positivity and Berno…
We study one-sided and $\alpha$-correct sequential hypothesis testing for data generated by an ergodic Markov chain. The null hypothesis is that the unknown transition matrix belongs to a prescribed set $P$ of stochastic matrices, and the…
This paper revisits the classical problem of determining the bias of a weighted coin, where the bias is known to be either $p = 1/2 + \varepsilon$ or $p = 1/2 - \varepsilon$, while minimizing the expected number of coin tosses and the error…
Estimating the parameter of a Bernoulli process arises in many applications, including photon-efficient active imaging where each illumination period is regarded as a single Bernoulli trial. Motivated by acquisition efficiency when multiple…
Continuous-time mean-variance portfolio selection model with nonlinear wealth equations and bankruptcy prohibition is investigated by the dual method. A necessary and sufficient condition which the optimal terminal wealth satisfies is…
We consider partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with limit-average payoff, where a reward value in the interval [0,1] is associated to every transition, and the payoff of an infinite path is the long-run average of the…
This paper focuses on optimizing probabilities of events of interest defined over general controlled discrete-time Markov processes. It is shown that the optimization over a wide class of $\omega$-regular properties can be reduced to the…
We establish a positivity property for a class of semilinear elliptic problems involving indefinite sublinear nonlinearities. Namely, we show that any nontrivial nonnegative solution is positive for a class of problems the strong maximum…
Consider the problem of maximizing the probability of stopping with one of the two highest values in a Bernoulli random walk with arbitrary parameter $p$ and finite time horizon $n$. Allaart \cite{Allaart} proved that the optimal strategy…
A decision maker repeatedly chooses one of a finite set of actions. In each period, the decision maker's payoff depends on fixed basic payoff of the chosen action and the frequency with which the action has been chosen in the past. We…
In this paper, we study the optimal stopping problem in the case where the reward is given by a family $(\phi(\tau ),\;\;\tau \in \stopo)$ of non negative random variables indexed by predictable stopping times. We treat the problem by means…
A restless multi-armed bandit problem that arises in multichannel opportunistic communications is considered, where channels are modeled as independent and identical Gilbert-Elliot channels and channel state observations are subject to…
We consider partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with limit-average payoff, where a reward value in the interval [0,1] is associated to every transition, and the payoff of an infinite path is the long-run average of the…
Clinical trials often evaluate multiple outcome variables to form a comprehensive picture of the effects of a new treatment. The resulting multidimensional insight contributes to clinically relevant and efficient decision-making about…
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…
We analyze some properties of maximizing stationary Markov probabilities on the Bernoulli space $[0,1]^\mathbb{N}$, More precisely, we consider ergodic optimization for a continuous potential $A$, where $A: [0,1]^\mathbb{N}\to \mathbb{R}$…
In theory, the probabilistic linkage method provides two distinct advantages over non-probabilistic methods, including minimal rates of linkage error and accurate measures of these rates for data users. However, implementations can fall…
We consider a class of time-inhomogeneous optimal stopping problems and we provide sufficient conditions on the data of the problem that guarantee monotonicity of the optimal stopping boundary. In our setting, time-inhomogeneity stems not…
We provide a polynomial time reduction from Bayesian incentive compatible mechanism design to Bayesian algorithm design for welfare maximization problems. Unlike prior results, our reduction achieves exact incentive compatibility for…
We study an optimal stopping problem under non-exponential discounting, where the state process is a multi-dimensional continuous strong Markov process. The discount function is taken to be log sub-additive, capturing decreasing impatience…
A continuous-time Markowitz's mean-variance portfolio selection problem is studied in a market with one stock, one bond, and proportional transaction costs. This is a singular stochastic control problem,inherently in a finite time horizon.…