arXiv AI
Jun 16
Deep Q-Learning on H\"older Spaces
arXiv:2606. 16846v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We study the operator-theoretic core of Q-learning in continuous-time stochastic control with continuous states and actions.
Mixing Regularization for Average-Reward $Q$-Learning and $Q$-Planning
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arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 24
Smart Exploration in Reinforcement Learning using Bounded Uncertainty Models
The paper introduces BUMEX, a reinforcement learning exploration strategy that leverages a set of prior models containing the true transition kernel and reward function. By optimizing over this model set, the method derives upper and lower bounds on the Q‑function to guide exploration, providing theoretical guarantees of convergence to the optimal policy. When the model set follows a bounded‑parameter MDP structure, the optimization becomes convex, enabling finite‑time convergence under mild assumptions and demonstrating accelerated learning in simulations.
arXiv AI
Aug 3
StaQ: a Finite Memory Approach to Discrete Action Policy Mirror Descent
arXiv:2506. 13862v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: In Reinforcement Learning (RL), regularization with a Kullback-Leibler divergence that penalizes large deviations between successive policies has emerged as a popular tool both in theory and practice.
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 24
Limiting-Kernel Q($\lambda$): Bridging Short and Long Horizons
Limiting‑Kernel Q(λ) (LKQL) is an off‑policy value estimator that blends n‑step truncation with a long‑horizon approximation based on the limiting kernel. It maintains the computational efficiency of n‑step methods while improving policy evaluation accuracy, especially for long‑horizon tasks. The authors prove faster convergence of LKQL’s operator under aperiodicity and near‑on‑policy conditions, and demonstrate empirical gains on MuJoCo continuous‑control benchmarks.
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Sep 23
Limiting-Kernel Q($λ$): Bridging Short and Long Horizons
In value-based reinforcement learning, improving the accuracy of policy evaluation has been shown to improve downstream policy optimization performance. The widely adopted family of approximations rel...
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 11
Regret, equilibrium, and learning in games: A guided tour
arXiv:2608. 09389v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: This note aims to serve as an entry point to the literature on learning in games, a topic with significant theoretical appeal and a wide range of applications -- from machine learning and data science to economics and beyond.
arXiv AI
Jul 14
Efficient Q-Learning and Actor-Critic Methods for Robust Average-Reward Reinforcement Learning
arXiv:2506. 07040v4 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We study model-free methods for distributionally robust infinite-horizon average-reward Markov decision processes (MDPs).
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 30
Provable Benefits of Regularization: Fast Rates for Adversarial Imitation Learning
The paper introduces Dually Regularized AIL, a model‑free algorithm for adversarial imitation learning that jointly applies KL policy regularization and a quadratic reward penalty based on expert and learner occupancies. It proves fast convergence rates, achieving a ×O(1/K+1/N) bound on the regularized imitation gap in finite‑horizon MDPs with general function approximation, and establishes the first algorithm to attain ×O(1/ε) sample complexity in both expert demonstrations and online interactions for this regularized objective.
arXiv AI
Aug 3
Gated Q-learning: Add Off-Policy Bias to Taste
arXiv:2607. 28916v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Multistep credit assignment is critical for sample-efficient reinforcement learning, yet managing off-policy bias in Q-learning remains a fundamental challenge.
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 10
Decision-Centered Abstractions via Orthogonal Estimation of Difference-of-Q Functions
The paper introduces state abstractions that preserve the difference of Q‑functions for offline reinforcement learning, aiming to exclude irrelevant dynamics from rich state data. It proposes a dynamic generalization of the R‑learner that uses orthogonal estimation and sparse learning to estimate the Q‑function contrast, achieving faster convergence and consistency under a margin condition. Experiments on simulated and simulator‑augmented real data show variance reductions and demonstrate that the necessary information for sequential decision‑making can be smaller than that required for full state prediction.
arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 17
Bridging the Gap between Newton-Raphson Method and Regularized Policy Iteration
arXiv:2310. 07211v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Regularization is a cornerstone of modern reinforcement learning.
arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 2
Fast Regularized Policy Mirror Descent with One-Step TD Updates
The paper introduces Fast Regularized Policy Mirror Descent (PMD) that pairs policy updates with a single temporal-difference (TD) critic step. It proves global linear convergence for finite discounted MDPs using exact coordinate-wise Bellman updates and any positive actor stepsize, regardless of critic initialization. For stochastic TD-PMD with strongly convex mirror maps, the authors achieve an expected value gap of ε after “~O(1/((1-γ)^5 σ_b ε))” transitions, without requiring trajectory resets, generative models, or nested policy evaluation loops.