The Gittins index is optimal for dynamic allocation with conditionally independent filtrations

Fuente: arXiv
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1. Verfasser: Wang, Christopher
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Wang, Christopher
author_facet Wang, Christopher
contents The dynamic allocation problem, also known as the `multi-armed bandit' problem, simulates a situation in which an agent is faced with a tradeoff between actions that yield an immediate reward and actions whose benefits can only be perceived in the future. In this paper, we show that the non-Markovian, discrete-time problem can be solved by following a Gittins index strategy, without the assumption that the rewards processes are independent. Instead, we require the underlying multi-parameter filtration to satisfy a conditional independence property. We provide three representations of the maximal attainable value under an optimal strategy. Furthermore, we discuss the relationship between index-type strategies and the `synchronization' paradigm from operations research.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_09350
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Gittins index is optimal for dynamic allocation with conditionally independent filtrations
Wang, Christopher
Probability
Optimization and Control
93E20, 60G40 (Primary) 60G48, 90B35, 90C24 (Secondary)
The dynamic allocation problem, also known as the `multi-armed bandit' problem, simulates a situation in which an agent is faced with a tradeoff between actions that yield an immediate reward and actions whose benefits can only be perceived in the future. In this paper, we show that the non-Markovian, discrete-time problem can be solved by following a Gittins index strategy, without the assumption that the rewards processes are independent. Instead, we require the underlying multi-parameter filtration to satisfy a conditional independence property. We provide three representations of the maximal attainable value under an optimal strategy. Furthermore, we discuss the relationship between index-type strategies and the `synchronization' paradigm from operations research.
title The Gittins index is optimal for dynamic allocation with conditionally independent filtrations
topic Probability
Optimization and Control
93E20, 60G40 (Primary) 60G48, 90B35, 90C24 (Secondary)
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.09350