Space Of Dual Variables Research Articles

Scalar Multivariate Risk Measures with a Single Eligible Asset

In this paper, we present results on scalar risk measures in markets with transaction costs. Such risk measures are defined as the minimal capital requirements in the cash asset. First, some results are provided on the dual representation of such risk measures, with particular emphasis given on the space of dual variables as (equivalent) martingale measures and prices consistent with the market model. Then, these dual representations are used to obtain the main results of this paper on time consistency for scalar risk measures in markets with frictions. It is well known from the superhedging risk measure in markets with transaction costs that the usual scalar concept of time consistency is too strong and not satisfied. We will show that a weaker notion of time consistency can be defined, which corresponds to the usual scalar time consistency but under any fixed consistent pricing process. We will prove the equivalence of this weaker notion of time consistency and a certain type of backward recursion with respect to the underlying risk measure with a fixed consistent pricing process. Several examples are given, with special emphasis on the superhedging risk measure.

Link-State Optimized Decode-Forward Transmission for Two-Way Relaying

We establish a novel link-state regime result for a composite decode-forward (DF) two-way relaying scheme with a direct link. During transmission, our scheme combines block Markov coding and an independent coding scheme that resembles network coding at the relay. A developed novel approach optimizes the composite technique by analyzing the dual variable space to identify link-state regimes in which a particular combination of transmission techniques is optimal. Our results expose an interesting trend: when the user-to-relay link is marginally stronger than the direct link, independent coding is optimal and the relay can conserve power. However, for larger user-to-relay link gains, the relay must use full power and supplement independent coding with block Markov coding to achieve the largest rate region. For Rayleigh fading links, we demonstrate that relay power savings are achievable in most node configurations. The link-state regimes are further applied to perform link adaptation in fading to illustrate significant data rate gains over direct transmission even under a more practical, long-term link state information. These link-state regime results are useful for the application of two-way DF relaying in practice.

Heuristic Search in Dual Space for Constrained Stochastic Shortest Path Problems

We consider the problem of generating optimal stochastic policies for Constrained Stochastic Shortest Path problems, which are a natural model for planning under uncertainty for resource-bounded agents with multiple competing objectives. While unconstrained SSPs enjoy a multitude of efficient heuristic search solution methods with the ability to focus on promising areas reachable from the initial state, the state of the art for constrained SSPs revolves around linear and dynamic programming algorithms which explore the entire state space. In this paper, we present i-dual, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first heuristic search algorithm for constrained SSPs. To concisely represent constraints and efficiently decide their violation, i-dual operates in the space of dual variables describing the policy occupation measures. It does so while retaining the ability to use standard value function heuristics computed by well-known methods. Our experiments on a suite of PPDDL problems augmented with constraints show that these features enable i-dual to achieve up to two orders of magnitude improvement in run-time and memory over linear programming algorithms.

Quadratic minimization with portfolio and terminal wealth constraints

We address a problem of stochastic optimal control drawn from the area of mathematical finance. The goal is to minimize the expected value of a general quadratic loss function of the wealth at close of trade when there is a specified convex constraint on the portfolio over the trading interval, together with a specified almost-sure lower-bound on the wealth at close of trade. We use a variational approach of Rockafellar which leads naturally to an appropriate vector space of dual variables, a dual functional on the space of dual variables such that the dual problem of maximizing the dual functional is guaranteed to have a solution (i.e. a Lagrange multiplier) when a simple and natural Slater condition holds for the terminal wealth constraint, and obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality of a candidate wealth process. The dual variables are pairs, each comprising an Ito process paired with a member of the adjoint of the space of essentially bounded random variables measurable with respect to the event $$\sigma $$ -algebra at close of trade. The necessary and sufficient conditions are used to construct an optimal portfolio in terms of the Lagrange multiplier. The dual problem simplifies to maximization of a concave function over the real line when the portfolio is unconstrained but the terminal wealth constraint is maintained.

On the sufficiency of finite support duals in semi-infinite linear programming

We consider semi-infinite linear programs with countably many constraints indexed by the natural numbers. When the constraint space is the vector space of all real valued sequences, we show that the finite support (Haar) dual is equivalent to the algebraic Lagrangian dual of the linear program. This settles a question left open by Anderson and Nash (1987). This result implies that if there is a duality gap between the primal linear program and its finite support dual, then this duality gap cannot be closed by considering the larger space of dual variables that define the algebraic Lagrangian dual. However, if the constraint space corresponds to certain subspaces of all real-valued sequences, there may be a strictly positive duality gap with the finite support dual, but a zero duality gap with the algebraic Lagrangian dual.

Lagrange duality, stability and subdifferentials in vector optimization

Lagrange duality theorems for vector and set optimization problems which are based on a consequent usage of infimum and supremum (in the sense of greatest lower and least upper bounds with respect to a partial ordering) have been recently proven. In this note, we provide an alternative proof of strong duality for such problems via suitable stability and subdifferential notions. In contrast to most of the related results in the literature, the space of dual variables is the same as in the scalar case, i.e. a dual variable is a vector rather than an operator. We point out that duality with operators is an easy consequence of duality with vectors as dual variables.

A new result in the theory and computation of the least-norm solution of a linear program

By perturbing properly a linear program to a separable quadratic program, it is possible to solve the latter in its dual variable space by iterative techniques such as sparsity-preserving SOR (successive overrelaxation) algorithms. The main result of this paper gives an effective computational criterion to check whether the solutions of the perturbed quadratic programs provide the least-norm solution of the original linear program.

A finite algorithm for the least two-norm solution of a linear program1

By perturbing properly a linear program to a separable quadratic program it is possible to solve the latter in its dual variable space by iterative techniques such as sparsity-preserving SOR (successive overtaxation techniques). In this way large sparse linear programs can be handled. In this paper we give a new computational criterion to check whether the solution of the perturbed quadratic program provides the least 2-norm solution of the original linear program. This criterion improves on the criterion proposed in an earlier paper. We also describe an algorithm for solving linear programs which is based on the SOR methods. The main property of this algorithm is that, under mild assumptions, it finds the least 2-norm solution of a linear program in a finite number of iteration.s

Iterative Solution of Linear Programs

By perturbing a linear program to a quadratic program, it is possible to solve the latter in its dual variable space by iterative techniques such as successive over-relaxation (SOR) methods. This provides a solution to the original linear program.