Optimization Control And Applications Of Stochastic Systems

This volume provides a general overview of discrete- and continuous-time Markov control processes and stochastic games, along with a look at the range of applications of stochastic control and some of its recent theoretical developments. These topics include various aspects of dynamic programming, approximation algorithms, and infinite-dimensional linear programming. In all, the work comprises 18 carefully selected papers written by experts in their respective fields. Optimization, Control, and Applications of Stochastic Systems will be a valuable resource for all practitioners, researchers, and professionals in applied mathematics and operations research who work in the areas of stochastic control, mathematical finance, queueing theory, and inventory systems. It may also serve as a supplemental text for graduate courses in optimal control and dynamic games.

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.

Stochastic optimization problems arise in decision-making problems under uncertainty, and find various applications in economics and finance. On the other hand, problems in finance have recently led to new developments in the theory of stochastic control. This volume provides a systematic treatment of stochastic optimization problems applied to finance by presenting the different existing methods: dynamic programming, viscosity solutions, backward stochastic differential equations, and martingale duality methods. The theory is discussed in the context of recent developments in this field, with complete and detailed proofs, and is illustrated by means of concrete examples from the world of finance: portfolio allocation, option hedging, real options, optimal investment, etc. This book is directed towards graduate students and researchers in mathematical finance, and will also benefit applied mathematicians interested in financial applications and practitioners wishing to know more about the use of stochastic optimization methods in finance.

This monograph applies the relative optimization approach to time nonhomogeneous continuous-time and continuous-state dynamic systems. The approach is intuitively clear and does not require deep knowledge of the mathematics of partial differential equations. The topics covered have the following distinguishing features: long-run average with no under-selectivity, non-smooth value functions with no viscosity solutions, diffusion processes with degenerate points, multi-class optimization with state classification, and optimization with no dynamic programming. The book begins with an introduction to relative optimization, including a comparison with the traditional approach of dynamic programming. The text then studies the Markov process, focusing on infinite-horizon optimization problems, and moves on to discuss optimal control of diffusion processes with semi-smooth value functions and degenerate points, and optimization of multi-dimensional diffusion processes. The book concludes with a brief overview of performance derivative-based optimization. Among the more important novel considerations presented are: the extension of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman optimality condition from smooth to semi-smooth value functions by derivation of explicit optimality conditions at semi-smooth points and application of this result to degenerate and reflected processes; proof of semi-smoothness of the value function at degenerate points; attention to the under-selectivity issue for the long-run average and bias optimality; discussion of state classification for time nonhomogeneous continuous processes and multi-class optimization; and development of the multi-dimensional Tanaka formula for semi-smooth functions and application of this formula to stochastic control of multi-dimensional systems with degenerate points. The book will be of interest to researchers and students in the field of stochastic control and performance optimization alike.

Optimal stochastic control; Stochastic optimisation; Stochastic processes; Algorithms; Information; Parameter estimation; Applications.

Optimization of Stochastic Systems

In view of Professor Wendell Fleming's many fundamental contributions, his profound influence on the mathematical and systems theory communi ties, his service to the profession, and his dedication to mathematics, we have invited a number of leading experts in the fields of control, optimiza tion, and stochastic systems to contribute to this volume in his honor on the occasion of his 70th birthday. These papers focus on various aspects of stochastic analysis, control theory and optimization, and applications. They include authoritative expositions and surveys as well as research papers on recent and important issues. The papers are grouped according to the following four major themes: (1) large deviations, risk sensitive and Hoc control, (2) partial differential equations and viscosity solutions, (3) stochastic control, filtering and parameter esti mation, and (4) mathematical finance and other applications. We express our deep gratitude to all of the authors for their invaluable contributions, and to the referees for their careful and timely reviews. We thank Harold Kushner for having graciously agreed to undertake the task of writing the foreword. Particular thanks go to H. Thomas Banks for his help, advice and suggestions during the entire preparation process, as well as for the generous support of the Center for Research in Scientific Computation. The assistance from the Birkhauser professional staff is also greatly appreciated.

This volume collects papers, based on invited talks given at the IMA workshop in Modeling, Stochastic Control, Optimization, and Related Applications, held at the Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications, University of Minnesota, during May and June, 2018. There were four week-long workshops during the conference. They are (1) stochastic control, computation methods, and applications, (2) queueing theory and networked systems, (3) ecological and biological applications, and (4) finance and economics applications. For broader impacts, researchers from different fields covering both theoretically oriented and application intensive areas were invited to participate in the conference. It brought together researchers from multi-disciplinary communities in applied mathematics, applied probability, engineering, biology, ecology, and networked science, to review, and substantially update most recent progress. As an archive, this volume presents some of the highlights of the workshops, and collect papers covering a broad range of topics.