We consider the following problem: the drift of the wealth process of two companies, modelled by a two-dimensional Brownian motion, is controllable such that the total drift adds up to a constant. The aim is to maximize the probability that both companies survive. We assume that the volatility of one company is small with respect to the other, and use methods from singular perturbation theory to construct a formal approximation of the value function. Moreover, we validate this formal result by explicitly constructing a strategy that provides a target functional, approximating the value function uniformly on the whole state space.

The connection between Residual Neural Networks (ResNets) and continuous-time control systems (known as NeurODEs) has led to a mathematical analysis of neural networks, which has provided interesting results of both theoretical and practical significance. However, by construction, NeurODEs have been limited to describing constant-width layers, making them unsuitable for modelling deep learning architectures with layers of variable width. In this paper, we propose a continuous-time Autoencoder, which we call AutoencODE, based on a modification of the controlled field that drives the dynamics. This adaptation enables the extension of the mean-field control framework originally devised for conventional NeurODEs. In this setting, we tackle the case of low Tikhonov regularisation, resulting in potentially non-convex cost landscapes. While the global results obtained for high Tikhonov regularisation may not hold globally, we show that many of them can be recovered in regions where the loss function is locally convex. Inspired by our theoretical findings, we develop a training method tailored to this specific type of Autoencoders with residual connections, and we validate our approach through numerical experiments conducted on various examples.

We consider the problem of controlling the drift and diffusion rate of the endowment processes of two firms such that the joint survival probability is maximized. We assume that the endowment processes are continuous diffusions, driven by independent Brownian motions, and that the aggregate endowment is a Brownian motion with constant drift and diffusion rate. Our results reveal that the maximal joint survival probability depends only on the aggregate risk-adjusted return and on the maximal risk-adjusted return that can be implemented in each firm. Here the risk-adjusted return is understood as the drift rate divided by the squared diffusion rate.

In this article, using an Halpern extragradient method, we study a new iterative scheme for finding a common element of the set of solutions of multiple set split equality equilibrium problems consisting of pseudomonotone bifunctions and the set of fixed points for two finite families of Bregman quasi-nonexpansive mappings in the framework of p-uniformly convex Banach spaces, which are also uniformly smooth. For this purpose, we design an algorithm so that it does not depend on prior estimates of the Lipschitz-type constants for the pseudomonotone bifunctions. Furthermore, we present an application of our study for finding a common element of the set of solutions of multiple set split equality variational inequality problems and fixed point sets for two finite families of Bregman quasi-nonexpansive mappings. Finally, we conclude with two numerical experiments to support our proposed algorithm.

We extend previous weak well-posedness results obtained in Frigeri et al. (2017, Solvability, Regularity, and Optimal Control of Boundary Value Problems for PDEs, Vol. 22, Springer, Cham, pp. 217–254) concerning a non-local variant of a diffuse interface tumour model proposed by Hawkins-Daarud et al. (2012, Int. J. Numer. Method Biomed. Engng.28, 3–24). The model consists of a non-local Cahn–Hilliard equation with degenerate mobility and singular potential for the phase field variable, coupled to a reaction–diffusion equation for the concentration of a nutrient. We prove the existence of strong solutions to the model and establish some high-order continuous dependence estimates, even in the presence of concentration-dependent mobilities for the nutrient variable in two spatial dimensions. Then, we apply the new regularity results to study an inverse problem identifying the initial tumour distribution from measurements at the terminal time. Formulating the Tikhonov regularised inverse problem as a constrained minimisation problem, we establish the existence of minimisers and derive first-order necessary optimality conditions.

We discuss a variational model, given by a weighted sum of perimeter, bending and Riesz interaction energies, that could be considered as a toy model for charged elastic drops. The different contributions have competing preferences for strongly localized and maximally dispersed structures. We investigate the energy landscape in dependence of the size of the ‘charge’, that is, the weight of the Riesz interaction energy.

In the two-dimensional case, we first prove that for simply connected sets of small elastica energy, the elastica deficit controls the isoperimetric deficit. Building on this result, we show that for small charge the only minimizers of the full variational model are either balls or centred annuli. We complement these statements by a non-existence result for large charge. In three dimensions, we prove area and diameter bounds for configurations with small Willmore energy and show that balls are the unique minimizers of our variational model for sufficiently small charge.

We consider a class of optimal control problems for measure-valued nonlinear transport equations describing traffic flow problems on networks. The objective is to minimise/maximise macroscopic quantities, such as traffic volume or average speed, controlling few agents, e.g. smart traffic lights and automated cars. The measure theoretic approach allows to study in a same setting local and non-local drivers interactions and to consider the control variables as additional measures interacting with the drivers distribution. We also propose a gradient descent adjoint-based optimisation method, obtained by deriving first-order optimality conditions for the control problem, and we provide some numerical experiments in the case of smart traffic lights for a 2–1 junction.

In this paper, we consider an optimal control problem governed by Stokes equations with H1-norm state constraint. The control problem is approximated by spectral method, which provides very accurate approximation with a relatively small number of unknowns. Choosing appropriate basis functions leads to discrete system with sparse matrices. We first present the optimality conditions of the exact and the discrete optimal control systems, then derive both a priori and a posteriori error estimates. Finally, an illustrative numerical experiment indicates that the proposed method is competitive, and the estimator can indicate the errors very well.

In this paper, we investigate the error estimates of mixed finite element methods for optimal control problems governed by general elliptic equations. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive L2 and H–1-error estimates both for the control variable and the state variables. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

We present a high-order upwind finite volume element method to solve optimal control problems governed by first-order hyperbolic equations. The method is efficient and easy for implementation. Both the semi-discrete error estimates and the fully discrete error estimates are derived. Optimal order error estimates in the sense of $L^{2}$-norm are obtained. Numerical examples are provided to confirm the effectiveness of the method and the theoretical results.

In this work, we develop an adaptive algorithm for solving elliptic optimal control problems with simultaneously appearing state and control constraints. The algorithm combines a Moreau-Yosida technique for handling state constraints with a semi-smooth Newton method for solving the optimality systems of the regularized sub-problems. The state and adjoint variables are discretized using continuous piecewise linear finite elements while a variational discretization concept is applied for the control. To perform the adaptive mesh refinements cycle we derive local error estimators which extend the goal-oriented error approach to our setting. The performance of the overall adaptive solver is assessed by numerical examples.

We discuss a control problem involving a stochastic Burgers equation with a random diffusion coefficient. Numerical schemes are developed, involving the finite element method for the spatial discretisation and the sparse grid stochastic collocation method in the random parameter space. We also use these schemes to compute closed-loop suboptimal state feedback control. Several numerical experiments are performed, to demonstrate the efficiency and plausibility of our approximation methods for the stochastic Burgers equation and the related control problem.

In this paper, we investigate the Galerkin spectral approximation for elliptic control problems with integral control and state constraints. Firstly, an a posteriori error estimator is established,which can be acted as the equivalent indicatorwith explicit expression. Secondly, appropriate base functions of the discrete spacesmake it is probable to solve the discrete system. Numerical test indicates the reliability and efficiency of the estimator, and shows the proposed method is competitive for this class of control problems. These discussions can certainly be extended to two- and three-dimensional cases.

This paper deals with boundary optimal control problems for the heat and Navier-Stokes equations and addresses the issue of defining controls in function spaces which are naturally associated to the volume variables by trace restriction. For this reason we reformulate the boundary optimal control problem into a distributed problem through a lifting function approach. The stronger regularity requirements which are imposed by standard boundary control approaches can then be avoided. Furthermore, we propose a new numerical strategy that allows to solve the coupled optimality system in a robust way for a large number of unknowns. The optimality system resulting from a finite element discretization is solved by a local multigrid algorithm with domain decomposition Vanka-type smoothers. The purpose of these smoothers is to solve the optimality system implicitly over subdomains with a small number of degrees of freedom, in order to achieve robustness with respect to the regularization parameters in the cost functional. We present the results of some test cases where temperature is the observed quantity and the control quantity corresponds to the boundary values of the fluid temperature in a portion of the boundary. The control region for the observed quantity is a part of the domain where it is interesting to match a desired temperature value.

A posteriori error estimates of semidiscrete mixed finite element methods for quadratic optimal control problems involving linear parabolic equations are developed. The state and co-state are discretised by Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces of order k, and the control is approximated by piecewise polynomials of order k (k ≥ 0). We derive our a posteriori error estimates for the state and the control approximations via a mixed elliptic reconstruction method. These estimates seem to be unavailable elsewhere in the literature, although they represent an important step towards developing reliable adaptive mixed finite element approximation schemes for the control problem.

A reduced-order model for distributed feedback control of the Benjamin-Bona-Mahony-Burgers (BBMB) equation is discussed. To retain more information in our model, we first calculate the functional gain in the full-order case, and then invoke the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method to design a low-order controller and thereby reduce the order of the model. Numerical experiments demonstrate that a solution of the reduced-order model performs well in comparison with a solution for the full-order description.

In this paper, we will investigate the error estimates and the superconvergence property of mixed finite element methods for a semilinear elliptic control problem with an integral constraint on control. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive some superconvergence properties for the control variable and the state variables. Moreover, we derive L∞- and H−1 -error estimates both for the control variable and the state variables. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

A new approach is presented for the boundary optimal control of the MHD equations in which the boundary control problem is transformed into an extended distributed control problem. This can be achieved by considering boundary controls in the form of lifting functions which extend from the boundary into the interior. The optimal solution is then sought by exploring all possible extended functions. This approach gives robustness to the boundary control algorithm which can be solved by standard distributed control techniques over the interior of the domain.

In this paper, we investigate the superconvergence property and the L∞-error estimates of mixed finite element methods for a semilinear elliptic control problem. The state and co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control variable is approximated by piecewise constant functions. We derive some superconvergence results for the control variable. Moreover, we derive L∞-error estimates both for the control variable and the state variables. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the theoretical results.

An inverse problem of reconstructing the initial condition for a time fractional diffusion equation is investigated. On the basis of the optimal control framework, the uniqueness and first order necessary optimality condition of the minimizer for the objective functional are established, and a time-space spectral method is proposed to numerically solve the resulting minimization problem. The contribution of the paper is threefold: 1) a priori error estimate for the spectral approximation is derived; 2) a conjugate gradient optimization algorithm is designed to efficiently solve the inverse problem; 3) some numerical experiments are carried out to show that the proposed method is capable to find out the optimal initial condition, and that the convergence rate of the method is exponential if the optimal initial condition is smooth.