In this paper we provide a perturbation analysis of finite time-inhomogeneous Markov processes. We derive closed-form representations for the derivative of the transition probability at time t, with t > 0. Elaborating on this result, we derive simple gradient estimators for transient performance characteristics either taken at some fixed point in time t, or for the integrated performance over a time interval [0 , t]. Bounds for transient performance sensitivities are presented as well. Eventually, we identify a structural property of the derivative of the generator matrix of a Markov chain that leads to a significant simplification of the estimators.

We investigate the dissipativity properties of a class of scalar secondorder parabolic partial differential equations with time-dependentcoefficients. We provide explicit condition on the drift term which ensurethat the relative entropy of one particular orbit with respect to some otherone decreases to zero. The decay rate is obtained explicitly by the use ofa Sobolev logarithmic inequality for the associated semigroup, which is derived by an adaptation of Bakry's Γ-calculus.As a byproduct, the systematic method for constructing entropieswhich we propose here also yields the well-known intermediate asymptotics for the heat equation in a very quick way, and without having to rescale the original equation.