arXiv AI

Robust $Q$-learning for mean-field control under Wasserstein uncertainty in common noise

arXiv:2606. 20356v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: In this article, we present a robust $Q$-learning algorithm for discrete-time mean-field control problems under Wasserstein uncertainty in the common noise law.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 3

Mean Field Reinforcement Learning

arXiv:2607. 01525v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: This monograph provides an introduction to mean field reinforcement learning through the lens of Markov decision processes arising from large-population stochastic control with mean field interactions and common noise.

By Ren\'e Carmona, Mathieu Lauri\`ere
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 18

Robust Federated Q-Learning with Almost No Communication

The paper introduces Robust Fed-Q, a federated Q‑learning algorithm designed for settings where multiple agents interact with a shared Markov Decision Process and communicate through a central server. It combines model‑based and model‑free reinforcement learning techniques with a median‑of‑means strategy from robust statistics to handle a small fraction of adversarial agents. The authors prove that Robust Fed-Q achieves exact convergence to the optimal value function with high probability, attains near‑optimal finite‑time rates that benefit from collaboration, and requires only “~O(1)” communication rounds per guarantee.

By Sreejeet Maity, Aritra Mitra
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 4

Finite-Time Convergence of Single-Trajectory Chi-Square Robust Q-Learning With Linear Function Approximation

The paper investigates model‑free robust Q‑learning with χ² uncertainty sets and linear function approximation, using data from a single trajectory of an unknown nominal MDP. It introduces a variational reformulation of the robust Bellman target and a blockwise frozen‑target scheme to overcome estimation and non‑contractivity challenges, and proves a finite‑time error bound for every discount factor γ in (0,1). A neural‑network experiment demonstrates the practical use of the variational target in a continuous‑state nonlinear‑control task.

By Saptarshi Mandal, Yashaswini Murthy, R. Srikant
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 12

Risk-Averse Wasserstein Distributionally Robust Online Learning

arXiv:2602. 20403v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We study distributionally robust online learning, where a risk-averse learner updates decisions sequentially to guard against worst-case distributions drawn from a Wasserstein ambiguity set centered at past observations.

By Guixian Chen, Salar Fattahi, Soroosh Shafiee
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jun 25

Mean-Field PhiBE: Continuous-Time Mean-Field Reinforcement Learning from Discrete-Time Data

This paper addresses model-free continuous-time mean-field control in a setting where the population dynamics evolve continuously according to an unknown McKean-Vlasov stochastic differential equation, while only discrete-time transition data are available. In the model-based formulation, policy evaluation is naturally described by a stationary Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation on $\mathcal P_2(\mathbb R^d)$, but this equation involves the drift and diffusion coefficients of the controlled McKean-Vlasov dynamics, which are not identifiable when only discrete-time data are available.