arXiv subjects

Marco Cirant

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Cirant.

43 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Time-dependent focusing Mean-Field Games: the sub-critical case

We consider time-dependent viscous Mean-Field Games systems in the case of local, decreasing and unbounded coupling. These systems arise in mean-field game theory, and describe Nash equilibria of games with a large number of agents aiming at aggregation. We prove the existence of weak solutions that are minimisers of an associated non-convex functional, by rephrasing the problem in a convex framework. Under additional assumptions involving the growth at infinity of the coupling, the Hamiltonian, and the space dimension, we show that such minimisers are indeed classical solutions by a blow-up argument and additional Sobolev regularity for the Fokker-Planck equation. We exhibit an example of non-uniqueness of solutions. Finally, by means of a contraction principle, we observe that classical solutions exist just by local regularity of the coupling if the time horizon is short.

math.AP↗

arXiv2016

Singular mean-filed games

Here, we prove the existence of smooth solutions for mean-field games with a singular mean-field coupling; that is, a coupling in the Hamilton-Jacobi equation of the form $g(m)=-m^{-α}$. We consider stationary and time-dependent settings. The function $g$ is monotone, but it is not bounded from below. With the exception of the logarithmic coupling, this is the first time that MFGs whose coupling is not bounded from below is examined in the literature. This coupling arises in models where agents have a strong preference for low-density regions. Paradoxically, this causes the agents to spread and prevents the creation of solutions with a very-low density. To prove the existence of solutions, we consider an approximate problem for which the existence of smooth solutions is known. Then, we prove new a priori bounds for the solutions that show that $\frac 1 m$ is bounded. Finally, using a limiting argument, we obtain the existence of solutions. The proof in the stationary case relies on a blow-up argument and in the time-dependent case on new bounds for $m^{-1}$.

math.AP↗

arXiv2016

Mean Field Games models of segregation

This paper introduces and analyses some models in the framework of Mean Field Games describing interactions between two populations motivated by the studies on urban settlements and residential choice by Thomas Schelling. For static games, a large population limit is proved. For differential games with noise, the existence of solutions is established for the systems of partial differential equations of Mean Field Game theory, in the stationary and in the evolutive case. Numerical methods are proposed, with several simulations. In the examples and in the numerical results, particular emphasis is put on the phenomenon of segregation between the populations.

math.AP↗

arXiv2016

Stationary focusing Mean Field Games

We consider stationary viscous Mean-Field Games systems in the case of local, decreasing and unbounded coupling. These systems arise in ergodic mean-field game theory, and describe Nash equilibria of games with a large number of agents aiming at aggregation. We show how the dimension of the state space, the behavior of the coupling and the Hamiltonian at infinity affect the existence and non-existence of regular solutions. Our approach relies on the study of Sobolev regularity of the invariant measure and a blow-up procedure which is calibrated on the scaling properties of the system. In very special cases we observe uniqueness of solutions. Finally, we apply our methods to obtain new existence results for MFG systems with competition, namely when the coupling is local and increasing.

math.AP↗

arXiv2015

Bifurcation and segregation in quadratic two-populations Mean Field Games systems

We search for non-constant normalized solutions to the semilinear elliptic system \[ \begin{cases} - νΔv_i + g_i(v_j^2) v_i = λ_i v_i,\quad v_i>0 & \text{in $Ω$} \\ \partial_n v_i = 0 & \text{on $\partial Ω$}\\ \int_Ωv_i^2\,dx = 1, & 1\leq i,j\leq 2, \quad j\neq i, \end{cases} \] where $ν>0$, $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^N$ is smooth and bounded, the functions $g_i$ are positive and increasing, and both the functions $v_i$ and the parameters $λ_i$ are unknown. This system is obtained, via the Hopf-Cole transformation, from a two-populations ergodic Mean Field Games system, which describes Nash equilibria in differential games with identical players. In these models, each population consists of a very large number of indistinguishable rational agents, aiming at minimizing some long-time average criterion. Firstly, we discuss existence of nontrivial solutions, using variational methods when $g_i(s)=s$, and bifurcation ones in the general case; secondly, for selected families of nontrivial solutions, we address the appearing of segregation in the vanishing viscosity limit, i.e. \[ \int_Ω v_1 v_2 \to 0 \qquad \text{as }ν\to0. \]

math.AP↗

arXiv2015

A generalization of the Hopf-Cole transformation for stationary Mean Field Games systems

In this note we propose a transformation which decouples stationary Mean Field Games systems with superlinear Hamiltonians of the form |p|^r, and turns the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation into a quasi-linear equation involving the r-Laplace operator. Such a transformation requires an assumption on solutions of the system, which is satisfied for example in space dimension one or if solutions are radial.

math.AP↗

arXiv2015

On viscosity solutions to the Dirichlet problem for elliptic branches of nonhomogeneous fully nonlinear equations

For scalar fully nonlinear partial differential equations depending on the Hessian andspatial coordinates, we present a general theory for obtaining comparison principles and well posedness for the associated Dirichlet problem with continuous boundary data. In particular, we treat admissible viscosity solutions of elliptic branches of the equation, where the nonlinearity need not be monotone on all of the space of symmetric N by N matrices. An elliptic branch (in the sense of Krylov, 1995) of the equation is encoded by a set valued map from the coordinate domain into the elliptic subsets of the symmetric matrices (an elliptic map). The nonlinearity will be monotone along this map and the degenerate elliptic PDE is replaced by the a differential inclusion. Weak solutions to such differential inclusions are defined by using the notion given by Harvey-Lawson (2009) in a pointwise manner. If the elliptic map is uniformly upper semicontinuous, we show that the comparison principle holds for these weak solutions and that Perron's method yields a unique continuous solution to the associated abstract Dirichlet problem provided that the boundary is suitably convex with respect to the elliptic mapand its dual in the sense of Harvey and Lawson. When the map encodes an elliptic branch of a given PDE, these soluitions are shown to be admissible viscosity solutions of the PDE problem. Various applications are described in terms of structural conditions which ensure the existence of the needed elliptic map. Examples include non-totally degenerate equations and equations involving the eigenvalues of the Hessian and their perturbations. In certain situations, the methods employed here will be shown to operate freely, while classical viscosity approaches may not.

math.AP↗