Controlled Stochastic Processes

The theory of controlled processes is one of the most recent mathematical theories to show very important applications in modern engineering, parti cularly for constructing automatic control systems, as well as for problems of economic control. However, actual systems subject to control do not admit a strictly deterministic analysis in view of random factors of various kinds which influence their behavior. Such factors include, for example, random noise occurring in the electrical system, variations in the supply and demand of commodities, fluctuations in the labor force in economics, and random failures of components on an automated line. The theory of con trolled processes takes the random nature of the behavior of a system into account. In such cases it is natural, when choosing a control strategy, to proceed from the average expected result, taking note of all the possible variants of the behavior of a controlled system. An extensive literature is devoted to various economic and engineering systems of control (some of these works are listed in the Bibliography). is no text which adequately covers the general However, as of now there mathematical theory of controlled processes. The authors ofthis monograph have attempted to fill this gap. In this volume the general theory of discrete-parameter (time) controlled processes (Chapter 1) and those with continuous-time (Chapter 2), as well as the theory of controlled stochastic differential equations (Chapter 3), are presented.

This book presents state-of-the-art solution methods and applications of stochastic optimal control. It is a collection of extended papers discussed at the traditional Liverpool workshop on controlled stochastic processes with participants from both the east and the west. New problems are formulated, and progresses of ongoing research are reported. Topics covered in this book include theoretical results and numerical methods for Markov and semi-Markov decision processes, optimal stopping of Markov processes, stochastic games, problems with partial information, optimal filtering, robust control, Q-learning, and self-organizing algorithms. Real-life case studies and applications, e.g., queueing systems, forest management, control of water resources, marketing science, and healthcare, are presented. Scientific researchers and postgraduate students interested in stochastic optimal control,- as well as practitioners will find this book appealing and a valuable reference. ​

This edited volume contains 16 research articles. It presents recent and pressing issues in stochastic processes, control theory, differential games, optimization, and their applications in finance, manufacturing, queueing networks, and climate control. One of the salient features is that the book is highly multi-disciplinary. The book is dedicated to Professor Suresh Sethi on the occasion of his 60th birthday, in view of his distinguished career.

This book consists of a series of new, peer-reviewed papers in stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control, with particular emphasis on mathematical finance, actuarial science and engineering. Paper contributors include colleagues, collaborators and former students of Robert Elliott, many of whom are world-leading experts and have made fundamental and significant contributions to these areas. This book provides new important insights and results by eminent researchers in the considered areas, which will be of interest to researchers and practitioners. The topics considered will be diverse in applications, and will provide contemporary approaches to the problems considered. The areas considered are rapidly evolving. This volume will contribute to their development, and present the current state-of-the-art stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control. Contributing authors include: H Albrecher, T Bielecki, F Dufour, M Jeanblanc, I Karatzas, H-H Kuo, A Melnikov, E Platen, G Yin, Q Zhang, C Chiarella, W Fleming, D Madan, R Mamon, J Yan, V Krishnamurthy. Contents:Stochastic Analysis:On the Connection Between Discrete and Continuous Wick Calculus with an Application to the Fractional Black-Scholes Model (C Bender and P Parczewski)Malliavin Differentiability of a Class of Feller-Diffusions with Relevance in Finance (C-O Ewald, Y Xiao, Y Zou and T K Siu)A Stochastic Integral for Adapted and Instantly Independent Stochastic Processes (H-H Kuo, A Sae-Tang and B Szozda)Independence of Some Multiple Poisson Stochastic Integrals with Variable-Sign Kernels (N Privault)Differential and Stochastic Games:Strategies for Differential Games (W H Fleming and D Hernández-Hernández)BSDE Approach to Non-Zero-Sum Stochastic Differential Games of Control and Stopping (I Karatzas and Q Li)Mathematical Finance:On Optimal Dividend Strategies in Insurance with a Random Time Horizon (H Albrecher and S Thonhauser)Counterparty Risk and the Impact of Collateralization in CDS Contracts (T R Bielecki, I Cialenco and I Iyigunler)A Modern View on Merton's Jump-Diffusion Model (G H L Cheang and C Chiarella)Hedging Portfolio Loss Derivatives with CDS's (A Cousin and M Jeanblanc)New Analytic Approximations for Pricing Spread Options (J van der Hoek and M W Korolkiewicz)On the Polynomial–Normal Model and Option Pricing (H Li and A Melnikov)A Functional Transformation Approach to Interest Rate Modelling(S Luo, J Yan and Q Zhang)S&P 500 Index Option Surface Drivers and Their Risk Neutral and Real World Quadratic Covariations (D B Madan)A Dynamic Portfolio Approach to Asset Markets and Monetary Policy (E Platen and W Semmler)Mean-Variance Portfolio Selection Under Regime-Switching Diffusion Asset Models: A Two-Time-Scale Limit (G Yin and Y Talafha)Filtering and Control:Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions for a Partially Observed Stochastic Control Problem (A Bensoussan, M Çakanyildirim, M Li and S P Sethi)Continuous Control of Piecewise Deterministic Markov Processes with Long Run Average Cost (O L V Costa and F Dufour)Stochastic Linear-Quadratic Control Revisited (T E Duncan)Optimization of Stochastic Uncertain Systems: Entropy Rate Functionals, Minimax Games and Robustness (F Rezaei, C D Charalambous and N U Ahmed)Gradient Based Policy Optimization of Constrained Markov Decision Processes (V Krishnamurthy and F J Vázquez Abad)Parameter Estimation of a Regime-Switching Model Using an Inverse Stieltjes Moment Approach (X Xi, M R Rodrigo and R S Mamon)An Optimal Inventory-Price Coordination Policy (H Zhang and Q Zhang) Readership: Researchers and professionals in stochastic processes, analysis, filtering and control. Keywords:Stochastic Processes;Filtering;Stochastic Control;Stochastic Analysis;Mathematical Finance;Actuarial Sciences;EngineeringKey Features:This is a festschrift of Professor Robert J Elliott, who is a world leader in the areas of stochastic processes, filtering, control as well as their applicationsIncludes contributions of many world-leading scholars in the fieldsContain many original and fundamental results in the fields rare in competing titles

World leading experts give their accounts of the modern mathematical models in the field: Markov Decision Processes, controlled diffusions, piece-wise deterministic processes etc, with a wide range of performance functionals. One of the aims is to give a general view on the state-of-the-art. The authors use Dynamic Programming, Convex Analytic Approach, several numerical methods, index-based approach and so on. Most chapters either contain well developed examples, or are entirely devoted to the application of the mathematical control theory to real life problems from such fields as Insurance, Portfolio Optimization and Information Transmission. The book will enable researchers, academics and research students to get a sense of novel results, concepts, models, methods, and applications of controlled stochastic processes.

The authors provide a comprehensive treatment of stochastic systems from the foundations of probability to stochastic optimal control. The book covers discrete- and continuous-time stochastic dynamic systems leading to the derivation of the Kalman filter, its properties, and its relation to the frequency domain Wiener filter aswell as the dynamic programming derivation of the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and the linear exponential Gaussian (LEG) controllers and their relation to HÝsubscript 2¨ and HÝsubscript Ýinfinity¨¨ controllers and system robustness. This book is suitable for first-year graduate students in electrical, mechanical, chemical, and aerospace engineering specializing in systems and control. Students in computer science, economics, and possibly business will also find it useful.

Stochastic control is a very active area of research. This monograph, written by two leading authorities in the field, has been updated to reflect the latest developments. It covers effective numerical methods for stochastic control problems in continuous time on two levels, that of practice and that of mathematical development. It is broadly accessible for graduate students and researchers.