Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-39/3/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 39 3 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the common increment law. The random walk has the Markov property, since is independent of and . Its transition operator is wherever that integral exists.
Set . For , suppose the Borel function has been constructed and represents . On the Borel setdefine the optimal stopping value function recursively byOutside , assign the finite Borel value . Measurability of integrals against a fixed probability law proves measurability of both the set and the function. Integrability of and independence imply almost surely andThe Snell recursion thus proves by induction.
At time zero the generated sigma-algebra is trivial, so is deterministic. Since , define for all , withwhen . This supplies a globally finite deterministic representation without assuming integrability of rewards from every unvisited starting state. HenceWith the additional statewise integrability normally used to define a value function for arbitrary starting states, one can instead use the Bellman maximum at time zero too. For , the representation is simply .
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