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An orderfield property for stochastic games when one player controls transition probabilities

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Abstract

When the transition probabilities of a two-person stochastic game do not depend on the actions of a fixed player at all states, the value exists in stationary strategies. Further, the data of the stochastic game, the values at each state, and the components of a pair of optimal stationary strategies all lie in the same Archimedean ordered field. This orderfield property holds also for the nonzero sum case in Nash equilibrium stationary strategies. A finite-step algorithm for the discounted case is given via linear programming.

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Communicated by G. Leitmann

This research was partially supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Grant No. 78-3495. The authors are indebted to Mr. J. Filar for some helpful suggestions in redrafting an earlier version of the paper, especially toward clarifying some obscurities in the proofs of Theorems 3.1 and 4.2 that existed in the earlier versions. This paper is dedicated to Professor C. R. Rao on his 60th birthday.

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Parthasarathy, T., Raghavan, T.E.S. An orderfield property for stochastic games when one player controls transition probabilities. J Optim Theory Appl 33, 375–392 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00935250

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