Stochastic convexity in markov additive processes

마코프 누적 프로세스에서의 확률적 콘벡스성

Stochastic convexity(concvity) of a stochastic process is a very useful concept for various stochastic optimization problems. In this study we first establish stochastic convexity of a certain class of Markov additive processes through the probabilistic construction based on the sample path approach. A Markov additive process is obtained by integrating a functional of the underlying Markov process with respect to time, and its stochastic convexity can be utilized to provide efficient methods for optimal design or for optimal operation schedule of a wide range of stochastic systems. We also clarify the conditions for stochatic monotonicity of the Markov process, which is required for stochatic convexity of the Markov additive process. This result shows that stochastic convexity can be used for the analysis of probabilistic models based on birth and death processes, which have very wide application area. Finally we demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the theoretical results by developing efficient methods for the optimal replacement scheduling based on the stochastic convexity property.