Solvability conditions for indefinite linear quadratic optimal stochastic control problems and associated stochastic Riccati equations

Abstract: A linear quadratic optimal stochastic control problem with random coefficients and indefinite state/control weight costs is usually linked to an indefinite stochastic Riccati equation (SRE) which is a matrix-valued quadratic backward stochastic differential equation along with an algebraic constraint involving the unknown. Either the optimal control problem or the SRE is solvable only if the given data satisfy a certain structure condition that has yet to be precisely defined. In this paper, by introducing a notion of subsolution for the SRE, we derive several novel sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the SRE and for the solvability of the associated optimal stochastic control problem.