Non-Asymptotic Confidence Bounds for Stochastic Approximation Algorithms with Constant Step Size.
We introduce a quantitative measure Δ of stability in optimal sequential testing of two simple hypotheses about a density of observations: f=f₀ versus f=f₁. The index Δ represents an additional cost paid when a stopping rule optimal for the pair (f₀,f₁) is applied to test the hypothesis f=f₀ versus a "perturbed alternative" f=f̃₁. An upper bound for Δ is established in terms of the total variation distance between f₁(X)/f₀(X) and f̃₁(X)/f₀(X) with X∼f₀.