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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Novikov, Ivan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.16055
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author Novikov, Ivan
author_facet Novikov, Ivan
contents Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with stage duration provide a framework for approximating continuous-time behavior by scaling transition probabilities with a stage duration parameter $h \in (0,1]$. While previous literature has primarily focused on the limit of the discounted value as the stage duration $h$ vanishes, this paper investigates the global behavior of the asymptotic value, $V(h)$, across varying stage durations. Our main result demonstrates that any strategy in a POMDP with stage duration $h$ can be mimicked in the base POMDP ($h=1$). Specifically, we provide an explicit construction showing that for any strategy in the POMDP with stage duration $h$, there exists a strategy in the base POMDP that secures the same asymptotic payoff. As a consequence of this theorem, we establish that the value function $V(h)$ is nondecreasing with respect to $h$, and that the continuous-time limit $\lim_{h \to 0} V(h)$ exists.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_16055
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Strategies in POMDPs with Stage Duration
Novikov, Ivan
Optimization and Control
Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) with stage duration provide a framework for approximating continuous-time behavior by scaling transition probabilities with a stage duration parameter $h \in (0,1]$. While previous literature has primarily focused on the limit of the discounted value as the stage duration $h$ vanishes, this paper investigates the global behavior of the asymptotic value, $V(h)$, across varying stage durations. Our main result demonstrates that any strategy in a POMDP with stage duration $h$ can be mimicked in the base POMDP ($h=1$). Specifically, we provide an explicit construction showing that for any strategy in the POMDP with stage duration $h$, there exists a strategy in the base POMDP that secures the same asymptotic payoff. As a consequence of this theorem, we establish that the value function $V(h)$ is nondecreasing with respect to $h$, and that the continuous-time limit $\lim_{h \to 0} V(h)$ exists.
title Strategies in POMDPs with Stage Duration
topic Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.16055