Related papers: Average optimality for continuous-time Markov deci…
We consider reinforcement learning for continuous-time Markov decision processes (MDPs) in the infinite-horizon, average-reward setting. In contrast to discrete-time MDPs, a continuous-time process moves to a state and stays there for a…
This paper studies a large number of homogeneous Markov decision processes where the transition probabilities and costs are coupled in the empirical distribution of states (also called mean-field). The state of each process is not known to…
We present the first finite time global convergence analysis of policy gradient in the context of infinite horizon average reward Markov decision processes (MDPs). Specifically, we focus on ergodic tabular MDPs with finite state and action…
We obtain the first probabilistic proof of continuous differentiability of time-dependent optimal boundaries in optimal stopping problems. The underlying stochastic dynamics is a one-dimensional, time-inhomogeneous diffusion. The gain…
A fundamental economic question is that of designing revenue-maximizing mechanisms in dynamic environments. This paper considers a simple yet compelling market model to tackle this question, where forward-looking buyers arrive at the market…
We propose a dynamic spectrum access scheme where secondary users recommend "good" channels to each other and access accordingly. We formulate the problem as an average reward based Markov decision process. We show the existence of the…
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…
This note outlines a mean-field approach to dynamic optimal transport problems based on the recently proposed McKean-Pontryagin maximum principle. Key aspects of the proposed methodology include i) avoidance of sampling over stochastic…
This paper addresses objectives tailored to the risk-averse optimization of accumulated rewards in Markov decision processes (MDPs). The studied objectives require maximizing the expected value of the accumulated rewards minus a penalty…
For a stochastic process with state space some Polish space, this paper gives sufficient conditions on the initial and conditional distributions for the joint law to satisfy Gaussian concentration inequalities, transportation inequalities…
We revisit closed-loop performance guarantees for Model Predictive Control in the deterministic and stochastic cases, which extend to novel performance results applicable to receding horizon control of Partially Observable Markov Decision…
The estimation of absorption time distributions of Markov jump processes is an important task in various branches of statistics and applied probability. While the time-homogeneous case is classic, the time-inhomogeneous case has recently…
We consider a class of optimal control problems, with finite or infinite horizon, for a continuous-time Markov chain with finite state space. In this case, the control process affects the transition rates. We suppose that the controlled…
We consider average-cost Markov decision processes (MDPs) with Borel state and action spaces and universally measurable policies. For the nonnegative cost model and an unbounded cost model with a Lyapunov-type stability character, we…
This paper studies optimal control under the average-reward/cost criterion for deterministic linear systems. We derive the value function and optimal policy, and propose an approximate solution using Model Predictive Control to enable…
Motivated by wide-ranging applications such as video delivery over networks using Multiple Description Codes, congestion control, and inventory management, we study the state-tracking of a Markovian random process with a known transition…
Within the framework of probably approximately correct Markov decision processes (PAC-MDP), much theoretical work has focused on methods to attain near optimality after a relatively long period of learning and exploration. However,…
We are studying stationary random processes with conditional polynomial moments that allow a continuous path modification. Processes with continuous path modification, are important because they are relatively easy to simulate. One does not…
This paper attempts to study the optimal stopping time for semi-Markov processes (SMPs) under the discount optimization criteria with unbounded cost rates. In our work, we introduce an explicit construction of the equivalent semi-Markov…
We study the distribution of the maximal jump of continuous-state branching processes. Several exact expressions and explicit asymptotics of both the local maximal jump and the global maximal jump are obtained. We also compare the…