An Alpha-potential Game Framework for Dynamic N-player Games with Yufei Zhang

In this talk, we introduce *alpha-potential games*, a new framework for analyzing dynamic multi-player games that simplifies the challenging problem of computing approximate Nash equilibria. While mean field game theory has provided important advances for large-scale stochastic games, it relies on assumptions such as player homogeneity and infinite populations. Alpha-potential games offer a more flexible approach by relating each player’s incentives to a shared alpha-potential function up to an error term alpha, reducing equilibrium computation to a stochastic control problem. We discuss the theoretical foundations of this framework, explain how the parameter alpha reflects structural properties such as population size, interaction strength, and player heterogeneity, and present recent theoretical results, algorithmic developments, illustrative examples, and open research questions. Yufei Zhang is an Associate Professor in Mathematical Finance and Machine Learning in the Department of Mathematics at Imperial College London, where he also serves as Co-Director of the MSc in Mathematics and Finance program. Before joining Imperial, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Statistics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He earned his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Oxford in 2021. Yufei was awarded the J.P. MorganChase Faculty Research Award in 2025 for his work on the mathematics of artificial intelligence. Yufei’s research lies at the intersection of stochastic control, game theory, machine learning, and mathematical finance, with a particular emphasis on developing theoretical foundations and algorithmic frameworks for complex decision-making in dynamic and uncertain environments. 🔔 Subscribe for more insights on the future of data modeling. Keep up-to-date on SIAM/BFS Webinars at https://wiki.siam.org/siag-fm/index.p... Watch previous SIAM FME webinars at    • SIAM Activity Group on FME Virtual Talk Se...   Learn more about SIAM Activity Group on Financial Mathematics and Engineering at https://www.siam.org/get-involved/con... #SIAM #FinancialMath #GameTheory #NashEquilibrium #MeanFieldGames #MultiAgentSystems #AppliedMath #AIResearch