A locally-built, LLM-digested index of recent arXiv papers in quant finance, geometry/topology, and statistical ML — keyword search served straight from SQLite on this machine.
Based on Colombeau's theory of algebras of generalized functions we introduce the concepts of generalized functions taking values in differentiable manifolds as well as of generalized vector bundle homomorphisms. We study their basic properties, in particular with respect to some new point value concepts for generalize…
problem Measuring similarity between real-valued functions.
method Unified representation of real-valued functions via sets, derived general form of the kernel, explicit feature representation, and smooth approximation.
result General Tanimoto kernel for real-valued functions.
This paper studies a recent proposal to use randomized value functions to drive exploration in reinforcement learning. These randomized value functions are generated by injecting random noise into the training data, making the approach compatible with many popular methods for estimating parameterized value functions. B…
In this work, we study value function approximation in reinforcement learning (RL) problems with high dimensional state or action spaces via a generalized version of representation policy iteration (RPI). We consider the limitations of proto-value functions (PVFs) at accurately approximating the value function in low d…
We propose randomized least-squares value iteration (RLSVI) -- a new reinforcement learning algorithm designed to explore and generalize efficiently via linearly parameterized value functions. We explain why versions of least-squares value iteration that use Boltzmann or epsilon-greedy exploration can be highly ineffic…
We use noncommutative localization to construct a chain complex which counts the critical points of a circle-valued Morse function on a manifold, generalizing the Novikov complex. As a consequence we obtain new topological lower bounds on the minimum number of critical points of a circle-valued Morse function within a …
PBVFs generalize across policies using learned value functions.
problem RL algorithms forget information about old policies when updating value functions to track the learned policy.
method Introduce Parameter-Based Value Functions (PBVFs) that include policy parameters in their inputs, enabling them to generalize across different policies.
result PBVFs enable zero-shot learning of new policies that outperform any policy seen during training.
The Lax-Hopf formula simplifies the value function of an intertemporal optimization (infinite dimensional) problem associated with a convex transaction-cost function which depends only on the transactions (velocities) of a commodity evolution: it states that the value function is equal to the marginal fonction of a fin…
We analyze a notion of multiple valued sections of a vector bundle over an abstract smooth Riemannian manifold, which was suggested by W. Allard in the unpublished note "Some useful techniques for dealing with multiple valued functions" and generalizes Almgren's Q-valued functions. We study some relevant properties o…
We discuss the nature of structure-preserving maps of varies function algebras. In particular, we identify isomorphisms between special Colombeau algebras on manifolds with invertible manifold-valued generalized functions in the case of smooth parametrization. As a consequence, and to underline the consistency and vali…
We consider the problem of reinforcement learning over episodes of a finite-horizon deterministic system and as a solution propose optimistic constraint propagation (OCP), an algorithm designed to synthesize efficient exploration and value function generalization. We establish that when the true value function lies wit…
Estimating the value function for a fixed policy is a fundamental problem in reinforcement learning. Policy evaluation algorithms---to estimate value functions---continue to be developed, to improve convergence rates, improve stability and handle variability, particularly for off-policy learning. To understand the prop…
We establish geometric and topological properties of the space of value functions in finite state-action Markov decision processes. Our main contribution is the characterization of the nature of its shape: a general polytope (Aigner et al., 2010). To demonstrate this result, we exhibit several properties of the structu…
We present a fully nonparametric method to estimate the value function, via simulation, in the context of expected infinite-horizon discounted rewards for Markov chains. Estimating such value functions plays an important role in approximate dynamic programming and applied probability in general. We incorporate "soft in…
A new framework for generative modeling using value-driven transport.
problem Developing efficient methods for generative modeling.
method A discrete-time stochastic control formulation of measure transport, formulated as a linear program with dual variables corresponding to the optimal value function.
result Well-trained VDT policies lead to straight transport paths that can be simulated quickly and robustly.
The paper explores when and why value decomposition algorithms work in cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning.
problem The applicability and convergence properties of value decomposition algorithms in cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning are unclear.
method The paper introduces decomposable games and proves that applying the multi-agent fitted Q-Iteration algorithm leads to an optimal Q-function in these games.
result The paper offers theoretical insights into when and why value decomposition algorithms converge in cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning.
Real valued homomorphisms on the algebra of smooth functions on a differential space are described. The concept of generators of this algebra is emphasized in this description.
Dyna is an architecture for model-based reinforcement learning (RL), where simulated experience from a model is used to update policies or value functions. A key component of Dyna is search-control, the mechanism to generate the state and action from which the agent queries the model, which remains largely unexplored. …