THE OPTIMAL STOPPING PROBLEM FOR S_n/n AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS

Optimal stopping has been one of Y.S. Chow's major research areas in probability. This paper reviews the seminal work of Chow and Robbins on the optimal stopping problem for S_n/n and subsequent developments and intercrosses with other areas of probability theory. It also uses certain ideas and techniques from these developments to devise relatively simple but accurate approximations to the optimal stopping boundary.