Robust Shielding for Safe Reinforcement Learning
arXiv:2606. 00270v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Shielding is an effective approach to formally guarantee the safety of reinforcement learning agents in Markov decision processes (MDPs).
arXiv:2606. 00270v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Shielding is an effective approach to formally guarantee the safety of reinforcement learning agents in Markov decision processes (MDPs).
The paper presents the first PAC learning framework for general-sum concurrent stochastic games with uncertain transitions, addressing the challenge of Nash equilibrium existence. It introduces data‑driven L¹ confidence sets over transition kernels and a robust CSG solver that computes a social‑welfare optimal ε‑NE, or provides a certificate that no exact NE exists. The algorithm achieves polynomial sample complexity under a minimum reachability condition and is validated on benchmark CSGs with near‑optimal performance.
We introduce the first Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) learning framework for general-sum concurrent stochastic games (CSGs) with transition uncertainty, while addressing the challenge of Nash equilibrium (NE) existence. Our algorithm maintains data-driven $L^1$ confidence sets over transition kernels and solves a robust CSG to compute a social-welfare optimal $\varepsilon$-NE, using a robust MDP-based exploration mechanism to drive joint state-action coverage.
arXiv:2511. 19849v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Recurrence objectives, where a target region must be visited infinitely often, are a fundamental class of specifications for Markov decision processes (MDPs) and form the core of $\omega$-regular and linear temporal logic (LTL) objectives.
The paper introduces Quasar, a model‑free Q‑learning algorithm that guarantees asymptotic convergence for reachability objectives in Markov Decision Processes that are free of non‑terminal maximal end components (MECs). Unlike prior model‑based methods, Quasar does not estimate transition probabilities, reducing memory usage from O(|S|²|A|) to O(|S||A|). Experiments on the Quantitative Verification Benchmark Set show that Quasar converges to optimal policies with far fewer samples than existing state‑of‑the‑art model‑based approaches.
Robust Markov Decision Processes (RMDPs) generalize classical MDPs by allowing uncertainty in transition probabilities and optimizing against their worst-case realization. We consider $(s,a)$-rectangu...
The paper introduces a new approach to learning chance-constrained Markov decision processes (CCMDPs) using a Bellman distributional certificate. It provides both model-based and model-free algorithms with theoretical guarantees, including matching upper and lower bounds for tabular discounted CCMDPs with bounded successor support. Numerical experiments on synthetic CCMDPs and an IEEE 14-bus energy storage benchmark demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the proposed methods.
arXiv:2609.06036v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Proposal-based controllers---learned policies, language-model planners, and other black-box \emph{generators}---are increasingly deployed behind runtim...
arXiv:2608. 07725v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Average-reward reinforcement-learning regret is known up to logarithmic factors, but the numerical content of published guarantees is difficult to compare because probability mode, structural parameter, logarithmic normalization, prior information, and planning assumptions differ.
The paper proves that using a permissive safety filter in reinforcement learning does not compromise asymptotic performance. By formalizing safety through a safety‑critical Markov decision process and a filtered MDP, the authors show that optimal policies in the filtered MDP achieve the same return as the best safe policy in the original setting. Experiments on Safety Gymnasium confirm zero violations during training and performance that matches or exceeds unfiltered baselines.
arXiv:2606. 29681v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Probabilistic model checking for Markov decision processes (MDPs) provides quantitative guarantees, but often offers limited insight into why undesired outcomes occur.
arXiv:2607. 17823v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Reinforcement Learning is a cornerstone technique for modern large reasoning models.