Markov Decision Processes and Stochastic Positional Games: Optimal Control on Complex Networks

This book presents recent findings and results concerning the solutions of especially finite state-space Markov decision problems and determining Nash equilibria for related stochastic games with average and total expected discounted reward payoffs. In addition, it focuses on a new class of stochastic games: stochastic positional games that extend and generalize the classic deterministic positional games. It presents new algorithmic results on the suitable implementation of quasi-monotonic programming techniques. Moreover, the book presents applications of positional games within a class of multi-objective discrete control problems and hierarchical control problems on networks.

Given its scope, the book will benefit all researchers and graduate students who are interested in Markov theory, control theory, optimization and games.

Prof. Dmitrii Lozovanu is head of the department of Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Moldova State University, Chisinau, Moldova. His main research interests are in discrete optimization, game theory, optimal control and stochastic decision-making processes.

​Prof. Stefan Pickl is a Professor of Operations Research at Bundeswehr University Munich, Germany. He studied mathematics, electrical engineering, and philosophy at the TU Darmstadt, Germany and EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland. He is also associated with the Centre for the Advanced Study of Algorithms (CASA), USA and Center for Network Innovation and Experimentation (CENETIX), USA.