arXiv:2610.19046v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: Information-theoretic exploration is of primary interest in methodological studies of reinforcement learning (RL) and computational cognitive neuroscie...
By Melih Kandemir, Mustafa Mert \c{C}elikok
The paper introduces a two-player zero-sum repeated game between a learner and nature that simultaneously captures Bayesian updating and an exact decomposition of exponential-weights regret. The game’s terminal payoff reflects the maximum gain a comparator can achieve given a fixed relative entropy from the prior, while the one-step constraint limits nature’s move by an information budget. The resulting regret splits into three precise components—per-round information loss, an additive retempering drift, and the comparator’s information relative to the prior—providing a unified framework that explains concentration phenomena, large-deviation bounds, and various learning methods such as bandits, posterior sampling, aggregation, and boosting.
By Akshay Balsubramani
arXiv:2605. 20854v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We study a stochastic bandit algorithm motivated by retry-aware objectives that value the best outcome among multiple attempts, such as pass@$k$ and max@$k$.
By Bingkui Tong, Junpei Komiyama, Soichiro Nishimori, Paavo Parmas
arXiv:2605.20854v3 Announce Type: replace
Abstract: We provide the first regret analysis of ReMax in stochastic multi-armed bandits. Originally introduced for reinforcement learning, ReMax is motivat...
By Bingkui Tong, Junpei Komiyama, Soichiro Nishimori, Paavo Parmas
The paper studies the trade‑off between maximizing rewards and accurately estimating current treatment effects in nonstationary multi‑armed bandits. For $K$‑armed bandits with H"older‑smooth mean rewards, the authors derive minimax bounds on expected dynamic regret under a high‑probability simultaneous coverage requirement for all current effects. They propose the TRACE algorithm, which achieves a regret–precision trade‑off that separates reward‑learning regret from the unavoidable cost of refreshing current‑effect estimates, and extend the method with an empirical‑Bernstein e‑process to adapt exploration while preserving worst‑case guarantees.
By Sharan Sahu, Martin T. Wells
arXiv:2606. 00913v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Multi-arm bandit algorithms are increasingly used in online platforms, clinical trials, and social science experiments, but valid statistical inference on their performance remains an open challenge.
By Samya Praharaj, Chih-Yu Chang, Koulik Khamaru, Kelly W. Zhang