This paper aims at theoretically and empirically comparing two standard optimization criteria for Reinforcement Learning: i) maximization of the mean value and ii) minimization of the Bellman residual. For that purpose, we place ourselves in the framework of policy search algorithms, that are usually designed to maximi…
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48 results for “Bellman residuals”
Deep learning for HJB PDEs using synthetic data and residual minimization.
problem Solving Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman PDEs for optimal control problems.
method Gradient-augmented synthetic dataset for supervised learning, residual minimization.
result Improves accuracy and efficiency of deep learning for HJB PDEs.
New method for distributional off-policy evaluation using Bellman residual minimization.
problem Learning return distribution from offline data generated by a different policy.
method Energy Bellman Residual Minimizer (EBRM) method.
result Established finite-sample error bound for EBRM estimator.
KBB algorithm reduces sample complexity for policy evaluation in general state spaces.
problem Policy evaluation in large state spaces with high sample complexity.
method Alternates between fitting Bellman residual and estimating value function via adaptive feature set growth.
result Super-linear convergence rates demonstrated, with reductions in sample complexity.
CEFOL uses deep learning for dynamic programming with recursive utility.
problem Challenges in solving dynamic programming problems with recursive utility.
method Introduces a separate neural network for certainty equivalent, uses first-order optimality conditions to learn value and policy functions.
result CEFOL achieves high accuracy in learning value and policy functions, matching VFI benchmarks.
Paper develops neural network approximation for pessimistic offline RL with theoretical guarantees.
problem Challenges in offline reinforcement learning with deep neural networks and data dependence.
method Establishes estimation error for pessimistic offline RL using neural network approximation with -mixing data.
result Explicit efficiency of deep adversarial offline RL frameworks demonstrated with two converging error components.
New approach transfers rewards learned in one environment to reinforcement learning in a new environment.
problem Transfer of rewards learned using inverse reinforcement learning from one environment to a new, different environment.
method Formulate the problem as a joint system of Bellman equations, develop minimax estimators for the target soft--function, solve the source and target system of equations jointly.
result The coupled approach removes the first-order influence of source Bellman residual error compared to the sequential approach.
Value function learning plays a central role in many state-of-the-art reinforcement-learning algorithms. Many popular algorithms like Q-learning do not optimize any objective function, but are fixed-point iterations of some variant of Bellman operator that is not necessarily a contraction. As a result, they may easily …
Study uses reinforcement learning to optimize portfolios under recursive utility.
problem Improving portfolio allocation using risk-sensitive objectives.
method Approximated certainty equivalent via Monte Carlo, trained actor-critic algorithms (PPO, A2C).
result Recursive-utility agent outperforms discounted baseline in Sharpe ratio, max drawdown, and cumulative return.
We seek to learn an effective policy for a Markov Decision Process (MDP) with continuous states via Q-Learning. Given a set of basis functions over state action pairs we search for a corresponding set of linear weights that minimizes the mean Bellman residual. Our algorithm uses a Kalman filter model to estimate those …
This paper reports applications of Difference of Convex functions (DC) programming to Learning from Demonstrations (LfD) and Reinforcement Learning (RL) with expert data. This is made possible because the norm of the Optimal Bellman Residual (OBR), which is at the heart of many RL and LfD algorithms, is DC. Improvement…
Kernel-based methods improve policy evaluation in MRP models.
problem Estimating value functions in infinite-horizon discounted MRP models.
method Kernel-based temporal difference methods using reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces.
result Optimal error bounds derived for the kernel-based LSTD estimate.
Study tight offline learning bounds for linear MDPs using variance information.
problem Understanding statistical limits with linear function representations in offline reinforcement learning.
method Variance-aware pessimistic value iteration (VAPVI) that reweights Bellman residuals based on estimated variances.
result Improved offline learning bounds expressed in terms of system quantities.
Sharp stability threshold found for deep residual architectures.
problem Ensuring stable training and inference in deep residual networks.
method Sublinear-growth principle and optimal-control analysis.
result Stable training condition: input-magnitude exponent q ≤ 1.
Survey of reinforcement learning guarantees with data constraints.
problem Guaranteeing near-optimal policies with limited data in reinforcement learning.
method Coverage-Structure-Objective (CSO) framework to decompose sample complexity results.
result Progress on PAC guarantees for reinforcement learning, covering various models and settings.
The Bellman error is a poor proxy for value function accuracy, even with all state-action pairs.
problem The Bellman error is a poor proxy for the accuracy of the value function.
method Study of the Bellman equation as a surrogate objective for value prediction accuracy.
result The magnitude of the Bellman error is only weakly related to the distance to the true value function, even with all state-action pairs.
Residual U-net with Self-Attention to Solve Multi-Agent Time-Consistent Optimal Trade Executionq-fin.TR
Deep neural net solves multi-agent optimal trading problem.
problem Optimal trade execution for multiple agents and assets.
method Residual U-net with self-attention for viscosity solution approximation.
result Neural network approach outperforms finite difference methods.
This paper presents four different ways of looking at the well-known Least Squares Temporal Differences (LSTD) algorithm for computing the value function of a Markov Reward Process, each of them leading to different insights: the operator-theory approach via the Galerkin method, the statistical approach via instrumenta…
New method stabilizes FQE by reweighting Bellman targets.
problem Stability guarantees for FQE often rely on Bellman completeness, which can fail with function approximation.
method Proposes stationary-weighted FQE, reweighting Bellman targets by stationary target-to-behavior density ratio.
result Proves finite-sample linear convergence to stationary projected Bellman fixed point without Bellman completeness.
A new method calibrates value predictions in offline RL to improve reliability.
problem Difficulty in long-horizon value prediction in offline reinforcement learning.
method Bellman calibration, a weak reliability criterion, and Iterated Bellman Calibration.
result Finite-sample guarantees show that Bellman calibration error is controlled at nonparametric rates.
Exponential Bellman Equation and Improved Regret Bounds for Risk-Sensitive Reinforcement Learningcs.LG
Improved risk-sensitive RL with exponential Bellman equation and better regret bounds.
problem Exponential gap between upper and lower bounds in risk-sensitive RL.
method Identified and addressed deficiencies in existing algorithms and analysis; developed novel analysis and exploration mechanism.
result Improved regret upper bounds over existing ones.
We describe a new approach for managing aleatoric uncertainty in the Reinforcement Learning (RL) paradigm. Instead of selecting actions according to a single statistic, we propose a distributional method based on the second-order stochastic dominance (SSD) relation. This compares the inherent dispersion of random retur…
New Bellman error estimator improves offline model selection performance.
problem Selecting the best policy from logged data using mean squared Bellman error.
method Developed a more accurate estimator of MSBE and analyzed conditions for successful OMS.
result New estimator achieves impressive offline model selection performance on diverse tasks.
The paper explores solutions to the distributional Bellman equation in reinforcement learning.
problem Distributional reinforcement learning considers complete return distributions, not just expected returns.
method Study existence and uniqueness of solutions to general distributional Bellman equations, linking them to multivariate affine equations.
result Any solution to a distributional Bellman equation can be derived from a multivariate affine distributional equation.
We obtain the classical Hanner inequalities by the Bellman function method. These inequalities give sharp estimates for the moduli of convexity of Lebesgue spaces. Easy ideas from differential geometry help us to find the Bellman function using neither "magic guesses" nor calculations.
Paper studies offline RL with linear approx, focusing on inherent Bellman error.
problem Offline RL with linear approx, focusing on inherent Bellman error.
method Algorithm that succeeds under single-policy coverage condition, leveraging inherent Bellman error.
result Algorithm yields first known guarantee under single-policy coverage, even for linear Bellman completeness.
Deep learning solves dynamic programming with recursive utility.
problem Challenges in solving high-dimensional discrete-time dynamic programming problems with recursive utility.
method Certainty Equivalent Learning (CEL) algorithm that learns certainty-equivalent value directly with neural networks.
result Accurate value and policy approximations in high-dimensional problems, comparable to VFI in some cases.
Richard Bellman's Principle of Optimality, formulated in 1957, is the heart of dynamic programming, the mathematical discipline which studies the optimal solution of multi-period decision problems. In this paper, we look at the main trading principles of Jesse Livermore, the legendary stock operator whose method was pu…
Linear Bellman Completeness Suffices for Efficient Online Reinforcement Learning with Few Actionscs.LG
Polynomial-time RL algorithm for constant actions under linear Bellman completeness.
problem Efficient online reinforcement learning with few actions.
method Polynomial-time algorithm based on linear function approximation.
result First computationally efficient algorithm for RL with constant actions under linear Bellman completeness.
The impact of softmax on the value function itself in reinforcement learning (RL) is often viewed as problematic because it leads to sub-optimal value (or Q) functions and interferes with the contraction properties of the Bellman operator. Surprisingly, despite these concerns, and independent of its effect on explorati…
We study utility maximization for power utility random fields with and without intermediate consumption in a general semimartingale model with closed portfolio constraints. We show that any optimal strategy leads to a solution of the corresponding Bellman equation. The optimal strategies are described pointwise in term…
BCRL learns a Bellman complete representation for offline RL policy evaluation.
problem Learning a Q-function efficiently from offline data.
method BCRL learns a linear Bellman complete representation directly from data, enabling efficient OPE.
result BCRL achieves competitive OPE error and outperforms FQE in certain scenarios.
One-step Bellman alignment improves online RL by reducing task mismatch.
problem Online RL struggles with task similarity defined by rewards or transitions.
method One-step Bellman alignment and re-weighted targeting (RWT) to correct task mismatch.
result Regret bounds show task shift complexity, not target MDP, affects performance.
The paper introduces Bellman-consistent pessimism to improve offline reinforcement learning without overly pessimistic bias.
problem Offline reinforcement learning's challenge of discovering good policies without exhaustive exploration.
method Introduces Bellman-consistent pessimism for function approximation, improving sample complexity and adaptability.
result Improves sample complexity by in the action space finite case, and automatically adapts to bias-variance tradeoff.
VA-OPE improves OPE by incorporating variance information, achieving tighter error bounds.
problem Estimating value function of a target policy from offline data collected by a behavior policy.
method Proposes VA-OPE, an algorithm that reweights Bellman residual using estimated variance of the value function.
result Achieves a tighter error bound than the best-known result.
We propose a new objective function for finite-horizon episodic Markov decision processes that better captures Bellman's principle of optimality, and provide an expression for the gradient of the objective.
Discrete time multi-period mean-variance model: Bellman type strategy and Empirical analysisq-fin.MF
Paper introduces dynamic strategies for multi-period investment models.
problem Optimizing investment strategies over multiple periods with risk and return considerations.
method Developed a Bellman principle for discrete time multi-period mean-variance models, leading to dynamic optimal strategies and efficient frontiers.
result Dynamic optimal strategies can achieve higher returns with lower risk compared to the 1/n strategy.
Model quantifies uncertainty's impact on European option prices.
problem Uncertainty in market volatility risk affects option pricing.
method Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman framework and finite element method.
result Dependence of Delta on uncertainty is nonlinear and varied.
This paper studies systematic exploration for reinforcement learning with rich observations and function approximation. We introduce a new model called contextual decision processes, that unifies and generalizes most prior settings. Our first contribution is a complexity measure, the Bellman rank, that we show enables …
Study solves optimal portfolio selection using HJB equation.
problem Optimal portfolio selection problem.
method Maximal monotone operator method, Banach fixed-point theorem, Fourier transform, monotone operators technique.
result Existence and uniqueness of solution to HJB equation.
Deep Bellman Hedgingq-fin.CP
Deep Bellman Hedging uses reinforcement learning to optimize financial portfolio hedging.
problem Optimizing financial portfolio hedging with derivatives and trading frictions.
method Actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithm with continuous state and action spaces.
result Trained model provides optimal hedge for any initial portfolio and market state.
The paper analyzes off-policy TD-learning using generalized Bellman operators and provides finite-sample bounds.
problem High variance in off-policy TD-learning due to importance sampling.
method Derives finite-sample bounds for off-policy TD-like algorithms using generalized Bellman operators.
result First-known finite-sample guarantees for several off-policy TD algorithms.
FORE evaluates occupancy ratios without requiring Bellman completeness.
problem Offline reinforcement learning occupancy ratio estimation.
method Fitted occupancy-ratio evaluation (FORE) using adjoint Bellman recursion.
result FORE achieves convergence in KL without Bellman completeness.
DSPI connects natural policy gradient to policy iteration, proving global convergence.
problem Optimizing policies in reinforcement learning.
method DSPI framework, combining smoothed policy iteration and natural policy gradient.
result DSPI achieves geometric convergence and optimal complexity for policy optimization.
Deep neural network approximation for high-dimensional parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equationsmath.NA
Deep neural nets approximate high-dimensional HJB equations efficiently.
problem Approximating solutions to high-dimensional HJB equations.
method Deep neural networks for approximating solutions.
result Deep neural networks can approximate solutions without the curse of dimensionality.
New method improves stability of soft FQI for offline RL.
problem Stability issues in soft FQI under function approximation.
method Stationary reweighting to align operator norms.
result Local linear convergence proved under certain conditions.
Optimizes portfolios with costs, showing existence of optimal strategies.
problem Risk-sensitive portfolio optimization with transaction costs.
method Log-return i.i.d. framework, Bellman equation analysis.
result Existence of optimal strategies for risk-averse and risk-seeking cases.
In this paper, we consider the stochastic iterative counterpart of the value iteration scheme wherein only noisy and possibly biased approximations of the Bellman operator are available. We call this counterpart as the approximate value iteration (AVI) scheme. Neural networks are often used as function approximators, i…