On the attainable distributions of controlled-diffusion processes pertaining to a chain of distributed systems

TL;DR

This paper investigates the distributions achievable by controlled diffusion processes in distributed systems, providing conditions for optimal control and insights into the process's invariance properties.

Contribution

It introduces a sufficient condition for the existence of optimal controls that steer the system to desired distributions, using a perturbation approach linked to reciprocal processes.

Findings

Optimal control exists under certain conditions.

Perturbation aligns with minimum energy control.

Invariance properties of the path-space measure are discussed.

Abstract

We consider a controlled-diffusion process pertaining to a chain of distributed systems with random perturbations that satisfies a weak H\"ormander type condition. In particular, we consider a stochastic control problem with the following objectives that we would like to achieve. The first one being of a reachability-type that consists of determining a set of attainable distributions at a given time starting from an initial distribution, while the second one involves minimizing the relative entropy subject to the initial and desired final attainable distributions. Using the logarithmic transformations approach from Fleming, we provide a sufficient condition on the existence of an optimal admissible control for such a stochastic control problem which is amounted to changing the drift by a certain perturbation suggested by Jamison in the context of reciprocal processes. Moreover, such a perturbation coincides with a minimum energy control among all admissible controls forcing the controlled-diffusion process to the desired final attainable distribution starting from the initial distribution. Finally, we briefly remark on the invariance property of the path-space measure for such a controlled-diffusion process pertaining to the chain of distributed systems.