arXiv subjects

Luciano Campi

Publications and source records attributed to Luciano Campi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Trembling-Hand Perfection in Mean Field Games

We introduce an admissible trembling-hand refinement for stochastic mean field games formulated through relaxed controlled martingale problems. A relaxed MFG equilibrium is perfect if it is the common Wasserstein limit of two sequences of joint control-state laws. The first consists of full-support population perturbations admissible for the state laws they generate; the second consists of exact optimal responses to those perturbed state laws. This admissibility condition prevents the control and state coordinates of a perturbation from being varied independently. Under the standing continuity, growth, and coercivity assumptions, we prove existence without requiring compact controls or bounded coefficients. The proof combines a perturbed fixed-point argument in the compact-bounded case with truncation, uniform moment estimates, compactness, and stability of controlled martingale problems. A one-dimensional model with exactly two relaxed mean field game equilibria shows that the refinement is genuinely selective: only one equilibrium is trembling-hand perfect.

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arXiv2026

Optimal Coarse Correlated Equilibria in Mean Field Games: Linear Programming and No-Regret Learning

We introduce optimal coarse correlated equilibria for continuous-time mean field games. A coarse correlated equilibrium is a randomized recommendation scheme from which no player can gain by ignoring the recommendation and switching to an alternative strategy. The problem is as follows: a moderator selects, among all mean-field coarse correlated equilibria, one that optimizes a prescribed performance criterion, which may differ from the representative player's objective. After formulating the problem, we develop a linear programming (LP) formulation, prove the existence of optimal LP coarse correlated equilibria, and relate the LP characterization to the original probabilistic setting. Building on this characterization, we design a no-regret primal-dual algorithm, based on an equivalent Lagrangian formulation of the external-regret constraint, for learning such equilibria. We provide explicit convergence rates for the learning algorithm, and numerical examples illustrate the method.

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arXiv2026

Mean field games with terminal state constraints

We study a mean field game (MFG) of state and control with state dynamics described by stochastic differential equations driven by both idiosyncratic and common noise, and subject to the constraint that the terminal state variable belongs to a nonempty, convex, closed set. The mean-field interaction enters both the dynamics and the costs through state and control. We formulate an equivalent auxiliary MFG problem and derive the stochastic maximum principle for an auxiliary optimization problem under fixed flows. By means of a suitable forward-backward stochastic differential equation (FBSDE) of conditional McKean-Vlasov type, we establish a characterization of MFG solutions via such a system. Moreover, we prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions for the FBSDE system in the specific case where the running cost is zero and the state coefficients are linear. Additionally, we obtain uniqueness results in the sense of Lasry-Lions and we apply our findings to MFGs of optimal investment with a quadratic relative performance criterion.

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arXiv2026

Mean Field Games for Renewable Energy Development

We propose a mean field game (MFG) framework to model the evolution of renewable energy production in competitive electricity markets. Producers interact through the spot price while optimising their profits under production, installation, and capacity adjustment costs, as well as the generation uncertainty. We first formulate the market as an $N$-player stochastic differential game and analyse its mean field game limit as $N\to\infty$. We characterise the representative producer's optimal control via forward-backward stochastic differential equations (FBSDEs) derived from the stochastic maximum principle and determine the corresponding equilibrium spot price. We establish existence and uniqueness of solutions to the FBSDEs and prove that the MFG admits a unique equilibrium. We then extend the model to a Stackelberg mean field game to incorporate the role of a social planner. The planner's optimisation problem leads to an extended Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) system, for which we prove existence and uniqueness of viscosity solutions. Finally, we implement a deep learning-based numerical scheme to approximate the equilibrium and investigate the impact of policy interventions on capacity dynamics. Our results highlight how optimal subsidy design depends on prevailing market conditions and can mitigate both capacity shortages and overproduction.

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arXiv2025

Continuous-time persuasion by filtering

We frame dynamic persuasion in a partial observation stochastic control Leader-Follower game with an ergodic criterion. The Receiver controls the dynamics of a multidimensional unobserved state process. Information is provided to the Receiver through a device designed by the Sender that generates the observation process. The commitment of the Sender is enforced. We develop this approach in the case where all dynamics are linear and the preferences of the Receiver are linear-quadratic. We prove a verification theorem for the existence and uniqueness of the solution of the HJB equation satisfied by the Receiver's value function. An extension to the case of persuasion of a mean field of interacting Receivers is also provided. We illustrate this approach in two applications: the provision of information to electricity consumers with a smart meter designed by an electricity producer; the information provided by carbon footprint accounting rules to companies engaged in a best-in-class emissions reduction effort. In the first application, we link the benefits of information provision to the mispricing of electricity production. In the latter, we show that information provision is a substitute for best-in-class objective.

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arXiv2024

Coarse correlated equilibria for continuous time mean field games in open loop strategies

In the framework of continuous time symmetric stochastic differential games in open loop strategies, we introduce a generalization of mean field game solution, called coarse correlated solution. This can be seen as the analogue of a coarse correlated equilibrium in the $N$-player game, where a moderator randomly generates a strategy profile and asks the players to pre-commit to such strategies before disclosing them privately to each one of them; such a profile is a coarse correlated equilibrium if no player has an incentive to unilaterally deviate. We justify our definition by showing that a coarse correlated solution for the mean field game induces a sequence of approximate coarse correlated equilibria with vanishing error for the underlying $N$-player games. Existence of coarse correlated solutions for the mean field game is proved by means of a minimax theorem. An example with explicit solutions is discussed as well.

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arXiv2023

Coarse correlated equilibria in linear quadratic mean field games and application to an emission abatement game

Coarse correlated equilibria (CCE) are a good alternative to Nash equilibria (NE), as they arise more naturally as outcomes of learning algorithms and they may exhibit higher payoffs than NE. CCEs include a device which allows players' strategies to be correlated without any cooperation, only through information sent by a mediator. We develop a methodology to concretely compute mean field CCEs in a linear-quadratic mean field game framework. We compare their performance to mean field control solutions and mean field NE (usually named MFG solutions). Our approach is implemented in the mean field version of an emission abatement game between greenhouse gas emitters. In particular, we exhibit a simple and tractable class of mean field CCEs which allows to outperform very significantly the mean field NE payoff and abatement levels, bridging the gap between the mean field NE and the social optimum obtained by mean field control.

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arXiv2022

Correlated equilibria for mean field games with progressive strategies

In a discrete space and time framework, we study the mean field game limit for a class of symmetric $N$-player games based on the notion of correlated equilibrium. We give a definition of correlated solution that allows to construct approximate $N$-player correlated equilibria that are robust with respect to progressive deviations. We illustrate our definition by way of an example with explicit solutions.

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arXiv2022

Mean field games with absorption and common noise with a model of bank run

We consider a mean field game describing the limit of a stochastic differential game of $N$-players whose state dynamics are subject to idiosyncratic and common noise and that can be absorbed when they hit a prescribed region of the state space. We provide a general result for the existence of weak mean field equilibria which, due to the absorption and the common noise, are given by random flow of sub-probabilities. We first use a fixed point argument to find solutions to the mean field problem in a reduced setting resulting from a discretization procedure and then we prove convergence of such equilibria to the desired solution. We exploit these ideas also to construct $\varepsilon$-Nash equilibria for the $N$-player game. Since the approximation is two-fold, one given by the mean field limit and one given by the discretization, some suitable convergence results are needed. We also introduce and discuss a novel model of bank run that can be studied within this framework.

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arXiv2022

Mean-Field Games of Finite-Fuel Capacity Expansion with Singular Controls

We study Nash equilibria for a sequence of symmetric $N$-player stochastic games of finite-fuel capacity expansion with singular controls and their mean-field game (MFG) counterpart. We construct a solution of the MFG via a simple iterative scheme that produces an optimal control in terms of a Skorokhod reflection at a (state-dependent) surface that splits the state space into action and inaction regions. We then show that a solution of the MFG of capacity expansion induces approximate Nash equilibria for the $N$-player games with approximation error $\varepsilon$ going to zero as $N$ tends to infinity. Our analysis relies entirely on probabilistic methods and extends the well-known connection between singular stochastic control and optimal stopping to a mean-field framework.

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arXiv2021

A McKean-Vlasov game of commodity production, consumption and trading

We propose a model where a producer and a consumer can affect the price dynamics of some commodity controlling drift and volatility of, respectively, the production rate and the consumption rate. We assume that the producer has a short position in a forward contract on λunits of the underlying at a fixed price F, while the consumer has the corresponding long position. Moreover, both players are risk-averse with respect to their financial position and their risk aversions are modelled through an integrated-variance penalization. We study the impact of risk aversion on the interaction between the producer and the consumer as well as on the derivative price. In mathematical terms, we are dealing with a two-player linear-quadratic McKean-Vlasov stochastic differential game. Using methods based on the martingale optimality principle and BSDEs, we find a Nash equilibrium and characterize the corresponding strategies and payoffs in semi-explicit form. Furthermore, we compute the two indifference prices (one for the producer and one for the consumer) induced by that equilibrium and we determine the quantity λsuch that the players agree on the price. Finally, we illustrate our results with some numerics. In particular, we focus on how the risk aversions and the volatility control costs of the players affect the derivative price.

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arXiv2021

$N$-player games and mean-field games with smooth dependence on past absorptions

Mean-field games with absorption is a class of games, that have been introduced in Campi and Fischer (2018) and that can be viewed as natural limits of symmetric stochastic differential games with a large number of players who, interacting through a mean-field, leave the game as soon as their private states hit some given boundary. In this paper, we push the study of such games further, extending their scope along two main directions. First, we allow the state dynamics and the costs to have a very general, possibly infinite-dimensional, dependence on the (non-normalized) empirical sub-probability measure of the survivors' states. This includes the particularly relevant case where the mean-field interaction among the players is done through the empirical measure of the survivors together with the fraction of absorbed players over time. Second, the boundedness of coefficients and costs has been considerably relaxed including drift and costs with linear growth in the state variables, hence allowing for more realistic dynamics for players' private states. We prove the existence of solutions of the MFG in strict as well as relaxed feedback form, and we establish uniqueness of the MFG solutions under monotonicity conditions of Lasry-Lions type. Finally, we show in a setting with finite-dimensional interaction that such solutions induce approximate Nash equilibria for the $N$-player game with vanishing error as $N\rightarrow \infty$.

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arXiv2021

Correlated equilibria and mean field games: a simple model

In the context of simple finite-state discrete time systems, we introduce a generalization of mean field game solution, called correlated solution, which can be seen as the mean field game analogue of a correlated equilibrium. Our notion of solution is justified in two ways: We prove that correlated solutions arise as limits of exchangeable correlated equilibria in restricted (Markov open-loop) strategies for the underlying $N$-player games, and we show how to construct approximate $N$-player correlated equilibria starting from a correlated solution to the mean field game.

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arXiv2021

MFG model with a long-lived penalty at random jump times: application to demand side management for electricity contracts

We consider an energy system with $n$ consumers who are linked by a Demand Side Management (DSM) contract, i.e. they agreed to diminish, at random times, their aggregated power consumption by a predefined volume during a predefined duration. Their failure to deliver the service is penalised via the difference between the sum of the $n$ power consumptions and the contracted target. We are led to analyse a non-zero sum stochastic game with $n$ players, where the interaction takes place through a cost which involves a delay induced by the duration included in the DSM contract. When $n \to \infty$, we obtain a Mean-Field Game (MFG) with random jump time penalty and interaction on the control. We prove a stochastic maximum principle in this context, which allows to compare the MFG solution to the optimal strategy of a central planner. In a linear quadratic setting we obtain an semi-explicit solution through a system of decoupled forward-backward stochastic differential equations with jumps, involving a Riccati Backward SDE with jumps. We show that it provides an approximate Nash equilibrium for the original $n$-player game for $n$ large. Finally, we propose a numerical algorithm to compute the MFG equilibrium and present several numerical experiments.

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arXiv2020

Mean field games with controlled jump-diffusion dynamics: Existence results and an illiquid interbank market model

We study a family of mean field games with a state variable evolving as a multivariate jump diffusion process. The jump component is driven by a Poisson process with a time-dependent intensity function. All coefficients, i.e. drift, volatility and jump size, are controlled. Under fairly general conditions, we establish existence of a solution in a relaxed version of the mean field game and give conditions under which the optimal strategies are in fact Markovian, hence extending to a jump-diffusion setting previous results established in [30]. The proofs rely upon the notions of relaxed controls and martingale problems. Finally, to complement the abstract existence results, we study a simple illiquid inter-bank market model, where the banks can change their reserves only at the jump times of some exogenous Poisson processes with a common constant intensity, and provide some numerical results.

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arXiv2020

An Impulse-Regime Switching Game Model of Vertical Competition

We study a new kind of non-zero-sum stochastic differential game with mixed impulse/switching controls, motivated by strategic competition in commodity markets. A representative upstream firm produces a commodity that is used by a representative downstream firm to produce a final consumption good. Both firms can influence the price of the commodity. By shutting down or increasing generation capacities, the upstream firm influences the price with impulses. By switching (or not) to a substitute, the downstream firm influences the drift of the commodity price process. We study the resulting impulse--regime switching game between the two firms, focusing on explicit threshold-type equilibria. Remarkably, this class of games naturally gives rise to multiple Nash equilibria, which we obtain via a verification based approach. We exhibit three types of equilibria depending on the ultimate number of switches by the downstream firm (zero, one or an infinite number of switches). We illustrate the diversification effect provided by vertical integration in the specific case of the crude oil market. Our analysis shows that the diversification gains strongly depend on the pass-through from the crude price to the gasoline price.

q-fin.MF↗

arXiv2020

Optimal market making under partial information with general intensities

Starting from the Avellaneda-Stoikov framework, we consider a market maker who wants to optimally set bid/ask quotes over a finite time horizon, to maximize her expected utility. The intensities of the orders she receives depend not only on the spreads she quotes, but also on unobservable factors modelled by a hidden Markov chain. We tackle this stochastic control problem under partial information with a model that unifies and generalizes many existing ones under full information, combining several risk metrics and constraints, and using general decreasing intensity functionals. We use stochastic filtering, control and piecewise-deterministic Markov processes theory, to reduce the dimensionality of the problem and characterize the reduced value function as the unique continuous viscosity solution of its dynamic programming equation. We then solve the analogous full information problem and compare the results numerically through a concrete example. We show that the optimal full information spreads are biased when the exact market regime is unknown, and the market maker needs to adjust for additional regime uncertainty in terms of P&L sensitivity and observed order flow volatility. This effect becomes higher, the longer the waiting time in between orders.

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arXiv2020

No-Arbitrage Commodity Option Pricing with Market Manipulation

We design three continuous--time models in finite horizon of a commodity price, whose dynamics can be affected by the actions of a representative risk--neutral producer and a representative risk--neutral trader. Depending on the model, the producer can control the drift and/or the volatility of the price whereas the trader can at most affect the volatility. The producer can affect the volatility in two ways: either by randomizing her production rate or, as the trader, using other means such as spreading false information. Moreover, the producer contracts at time zero a fixed position in a European convex derivative with the trader. The trader can be price-taker, as in the first two models, or she can also affect the volatility of the commodity price, as in the third model. We solve all three models semi--explicitly and give closed--form expressions of the derivative price over a small time horizon, preventing arbitrage opportunities to arise. We find that when the trader is price-taker, the producer can always compensate the loss in expected production profit generated by an increase of volatility by a gain in the derivative position by driving the price at maturity to a suitable level. Finally, in case the trader is active, the model takes the form of a nonzero-sum linear-quadratic stochastic differential game and we find that when the production rate is already at its optimal stationary level, there is an amount of derivative position that makes both players better off when entering the game.

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