arXiv Machine Learning By Bastien Dubail, Stefan Stojanovic, Alexandre Prouti\`ere

Shift Before You Learn: Enabling Low-Rank Representations in Reinforcement Learning

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The paper challenges the common assumption that the successor measure in reinforcement learning is approximately low-rank, showing instead that a low-rank structure emerges in a shifted successor measure that ignores initial transitions. It provides finite-sample guarantees for estimating this low-rank approximation, introduces Type II Poincaré inequalities to bound spectral recoverability, and links the necessary shift to the decay of high-order singular values and local mixing properties. Experiments confirm that shifting the successor measure improves goal-conditioned RL performance.

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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.

By Tolga Ok, Arman Sharifi Kolarijani, Peyman Mohajerin Esfahani, Mohamad Amin Sharifi Kolarijani