scholarly journals Generalized Bomber and Fighter Problems: Offline Optimal Allocation of a Discrete Asset

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (02) ◽  
pp. 403-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abba M. Krieger ◽  
Ester Samuel-Cahn
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Allocation Policy ◽  
Numerical Comparisons ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Dynamic Version

The classical bomber problem concerns properties of the optimal allocation policy of a given number, n, of anti-aircraft missiles, with which an airplane is equipped. The airplane begins at a distance t >0 from its destination and uses some of the anti-aircraft missiles when intercepted by enemy planes that appear according to a homogeneous Poisson process. The goal is to maximize the probability of reaching its destination. The fighter problem deals with a similar situation, but the goal is to shoot down as many enemy planes as possible. The optimal allocation policies are dynamic, depending upon both the number of missiles and the time which remains to reach the destination when the enemy is met. The present paper generalizes these problems by allowing the number of enemy planes to have any distribution, not just Poisson. This implies that the optimal strategies can no longer be dynamic, and are, in our terminology, offline. We show that properties similar to those holding for the classical problems hold also in the present case. Whether certain properties hold that remain open questions in the dynamic version are resolved in the offline version. Since ‘time’ is no longer a meaningful way to parametrize the distributions for the number of encounters, other more general orderings of distributions are needed. Numerical comparisons between the dynamic and offline approaches are given.

scholarly journals Generalized Bomber and Fighter Problems: Offline Optimal Allocation of a Discrete Asset

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-418
Author(s):  
Abba M. Krieger ◽  
Ester Samuel-Cahn
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Allocation Policy ◽  
Numerical Comparisons ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Dynamic Version

The classical bomber problem concerns properties of the optimal allocation policy of a given number, n, of anti-aircraft missiles, with which an airplane is equipped. The airplane begins at a distance t >0 from its destination and uses some of the anti-aircraft missiles when intercepted by enemy planes that appear according to a homogeneous Poisson process. The goal is to maximize the probability of reaching its destination. The fighter problem deals with a similar situation, but the goal is to shoot down as many enemy planes as possible. The optimal allocation policies are dynamic, depending upon both the number of missiles and the time which remains to reach the destination when the enemy is met. The present paper generalizes these problems by allowing the number of enemy planes to have any distribution, not just Poisson. This implies that the optimal strategies can no longer be dynamic, and are, in our terminology, offline. We show that properties similar to those holding for the classical problems hold also in the present case. Whether certain properties hold that remain open questions in the dynamic version are resolved in the offline version. Since ‘time’ is no longer a meaningful way to parametrize the distributions for the number of encounters, other more general orderings of distributions are needed. Numerical comparisons between the dynamic and offline approaches are given.

scholarly journals The fighter problem: optimal allocation of a discrete commodity

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (01) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Bartroff ◽  
Ester Samuel-Cahn
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Optimal Number ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Time Period

In this paper we study the fighter problem with discrete ammunition. An aircraft (fighter) equipped with n anti-aircraft missiles is intercepted by enemy airplanes, the appearance of which follows a homogeneous Poisson process with known intensity. If j of the n missiles are spent at an encounter, they destroy an enemy plane with probability a(j), where a(0) = 0 and {a(j)} is a known, strictly increasing concave sequence, e.g. a(j) = 1 - q j , 0 < q < 1. If the enemy is not destroyed, the enemy shoots the fighter down with known probability 1 - u, where 0 ≤ u ≤ 1. The goal of the fighter is to shoot down as many enemy airplanes as possible during a given time period [0, T]. Let K(n, t) be the smallest optimal number of missiles to be used at a present encounter, when the fighter has flying time t remaining and n missiles remaining. Three seemingly obvious properties of K(n, t) have been conjectured: (A) the closer to the destination, the more of the n missiles one should use; (B) the more missiles one has; the more one should use; and (C) the more missiles one has, the more one should save for possible future encounters. We show that (C) holds for all 0 ≤ u ≤ 1, that (A) and (B) hold for the ‘invincible fighter’ (u = 1), and that (A) holds but (B) fails for the ‘frail fighter’ (u = 0); the latter is shown through a surprising counterexample, which is also valid for small u > 0 values.

scholarly journals The fighter problem: optimal allocation of a discrete commodity

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Bartroff ◽  
Ester Samuel-Cahn
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Optimal Number ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Time Period

In this paper we study the fighter problem with discrete ammunition. An aircraft (fighter) equipped with n anti-aircraft missiles is intercepted by enemy airplanes, the appearance of which follows a homogeneous Poisson process with known intensity. If j of the n missiles are spent at an encounter, they destroy an enemy plane with probability a(j), where a(0) = 0 and {a(j)} is a known, strictly increasing concave sequence, e.g. a(j) = 1 - qj, 0 < q < 1. If the enemy is not destroyed, the enemy shoots the fighter down with known probability 1 - u, where 0 ≤ u ≤ 1. The goal of the fighter is to shoot down as many enemy airplanes as possible during a given time period [0, T]. Let K(n, t) be the smallest optimal number of missiles to be used at a present encounter, when the fighter has flying time t remaining and n missiles remaining. Three seemingly obvious properties of K(n, t) have been conjectured: (A) the closer to the destination, the more of the n missiles one should use; (B) the more missiles one has; the more one should use; and (C) the more missiles one has, the more one should save for possible future encounters. We show that (C) holds for all 0 ≤ u ≤ 1, that (A) and (B) hold for the ‘invincible fighter’ (u = 1), and that (A) holds but (B) fails for the ‘frail fighter’ (u = 0); the latter is shown through a surprising counterexample, which is also valid for small u > 0 values.

Applying the Anderson-Darling Test to Suicide Clusters

Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 434-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald W. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Poisson Process ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Homogeneous Poisson Process ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Suicide Clusters ◽  
Institute Of Technology ◽  
Anderson Darling

Background: Suicide clusters at Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prompted popular and expert speculation of suicide contagion. However, some clustering is to be expected in any random process. Aim: This work tested whether suicide clusters at these two universities differed significantly from those expected under a homogeneous Poisson process, in which suicides occur randomly and independently of one another. Method: Suicide dates were collected for MIT and Cornell for 1990–2012. The Anderson-Darling statistic was used to test the goodness-of-fit of the intervals between suicides to distribution expected under the Poisson process. Results: Suicides at MIT were consistent with the homogeneous Poisson process, while those at Cornell showed clustering inconsistent with such a process (p = .05). Conclusions: The Anderson-Darling test provides a statistically powerful means to identify suicide clustering in small samples. Practitioners can use this method to test for clustering in relevant communities. The difference in clustering behavior between the two institutions suggests that more institutions should be studied to determine the prevalence of suicide clustering in universities and its causes.

Optimal allocation of a coherent system with statistical dependent subsystems

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Bin Lu ◽  
Jiandong Zhang ◽  
Rongfang Yan
Keyword(s):  
Hazard Rate ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Stochastic Order ◽  
Sufficient Conditions ◽  
Parallel Systems ◽  
Coherent System ◽  
Allocation Policy ◽  
Usual Stochastic Order ◽  
Series Systems ◽  
Parallel Series

Abstract This paper studies the optimal allocation policy of a coherent system with independent heterogeneous components and dependent subsystems, the systems are assumed to consist of two groups of components whose lifetimes follow proportional hazard (PH) or proportional reversed hazard (PRH) models. We investigate the optimal allocation strategy by finding out the number $k$ of components coming from Group A in the up-series system. First, some sufficient conditions are provided in the sense of the usual stochastic order to compare the lifetimes of two-parallel–series systems with dependent subsystems, and we obtain the hazard rate and reversed hazard rate orders when two subsystems have independent lifetimes. Second, similar results are also obtained for two-series–parallel systems under certain conditions. Finally, we generalize the corresponding results to parallel–series and series–parallel systems with multiple subsystems in the viewpoint of the minimal path and the minimal cut sets, respectively. Some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the theoretical findings.

scholarly journals Intertemporal Optimization Model of Entrepreneurs Behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-220
Author(s):  
Natalya Antipina
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Model ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Mixed Boundary ◽  
Optimal Strategies ◽  
Mixed Boundary Conditions ◽  
Differential Relation ◽  
Discounted Utility ◽  
Dynamic Optimization Model ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Production Company

The intertemporal problem of consumer’s behavior is the basis of modern models. The interest in this kind of problems is determined by the attempt to widen the range of directions within which it is possible to conduct additional mathematical research in the theory of consumption. The article considers the problem of maximizing discounted utility derived from an entrepreneur’s consumption due to optimal allocation of monetary means which he gets as profit from his production company and interest on assets. The difference of this problem from the basic dynamic problem of consumer’s behavior lies in the fact that an entrepreneur as an individual acts in two roles: as a consumer and as a manufacturer. Furthermore, the problem is characterized by two peculiarities: a distinctive budget limitation which includes production function and reveals an irregular differential relation and also by the presence of mixed boundary conditions on the value of capital and assets. Formalization of the problem as a dynamic optimization model is given. It was studied with the use of mathematical analysis and the means of the optimal control theory. According to parameter correlations of the model, two strategies were identified which can be recommended for an entrepreneur as the most optimal ones. The model that was developed in the course of research can serve as a tool for taking decisions because it suggests optimal strategies of allocation of financial means in an enterprise which leads to maximization of consumption utility.

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