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arXiv research

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.

168,695 papers · 148 categories

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48 results for Process reward models

Trade-R1 bridges verifiable rewards to stochastic financial markets via process-level reasoning verification.

problem Extending RL to financial markets where rewards are verifiable but noisy.
method A verification method that transforms reasoning over financial documents into a structured RAG task, using a triangular consistency metric.
result DSR achieves superior cross-market generalization while maintaining reasoning consistency.

This work shows how approximate reward models can significantly improve inference-time scaling.

problem Improving the efficiency of inference for large language models.
method Identifying the Bellman error of approximate reward models and using Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) for inference.
result Approximate reward models can reduce computational complexity from exponential to polynomial in TT.

Paper introduces PRMs to learn non-Markovian stochastic rewards for reinforcement learning.

problem Lack of structured representation for non-Markovian stochastic rewards in reinforcement learning.
method Introduces probabilistic reward machines (PRMs) and presents an algorithm to learn them from decision processes.
result Algorithm proves correct and convergent for learning PRMs from decision processes.

Novel framework for risk-sensitive reinforcement learning using martingale decomposition.

problem Risk sensitivity in sequential decision-making with uncertain rewards.
method Martingale decomposition and chaotic variation for reward uncertainty, integrated into model-free reinforcement learning algorithms.
result Demonstrated relevance of risk-sensitive reinforcement learning in grid world and portfolio optimization problems.

The paper tackles reinforcement learning with exogenous variables and rewards.

problem Exogenous state variables and rewards slow reinforcement learning by introducing uncontrolled variation.
method Formalizes exogenous state variables and rewards, decomposes MDP into exogenous and endogenous components, and introduces algorithms to discover these components.
result Optimal policies for the endogenous MDP are also optimal for the original MDP, but the endogenous MDP is easier to solve due to reduced variance.

The paper tackles batch policy learning in Markov Decision Processes, focusing on average reward maximization.

problem Maximizing long-term average reward in Markov Decision Processes with batch learning.
method Doubly robust estimator for average reward, optimization algorithm for optimal policy, finite-sample regret guarantee.
result The proposed method achieves semiparametric efficiency and provides a finite-sample regret guarantee.

Unified framework for human-like decision making in various sequential tasks.

problem Real-life decision-making involves diverse strategies leading to similar outcomes.
method Two-stream reward processing mechanism for flexible and unified models.
result Framework unified MAB, CB, and RL with comparable performance.

A new estimator for state values in reinforcement learning reduces complexity and improves convergence.

problem Estimating state values in reinforcement learning with Markov reward processes.
method Loop estimator exploiting regenerative structure of Markov reward processes.
result Instance-dependent convergence rate of O~(τs/T)\widetilde{O}\left(\sqrt{τ_s/T}\right) for estimating state values.

New findings on universal learning in contextual bandits with adversarial rewards.

problem Learning in contextual bandits with time-varying, adversarial rewards.
method Characterization of learnable processes and necessary/sufficient conditions for universal learning.
result Optimistic universal learning for contextual bandits with adversarial rewards is impossible in general.

Drawing an inspiration from behavioral studies of human decision making, we propose here a general parametric framework for a reinforcement learning problem, which extends the standard Q-learning approach to incorporate a two-stream framework of reward processing with biases biologically associated with several neurolo…

2019-06-21abs ↗pdf ↗

Designers of AI agents often iterate on the reward function in a trial-and-error process until they get the desired behavior, but this only guarantees good behavior in the training environment. We propose structuring this process as a series of queries asking the user to compare between different reward functions. Thus…

2018-09-09abs ↗pdf ↗

ARL uses queries to learn rewards, focusing on cost vs. reward value.

problem How to efficiently use queries to learn rewards in reinforcement learning.
method Proposed and evaluated heuristic approaches for ARL in multi-armed bandits and MDPs.
result Challenging aspects of ARL highlighted, including intractability of value computation.

A novel framework refines diffusion models iteratively for better downstream reward optimization.

problem Optimizing reward functions during inference of diffusion models.
method Iterative refinement process with noising and reward-guided denoising steps.
result Superior empirical performance in protein and DNA design.

The paper studies reward concentration in MDPs, covering asymptotic and non-asymptotic settings.

problem Reward concentration in Markov Decision Processes (MDPs).
method Unified approach to reward concentration in MDPs, including asymptotic and non-asymptotic bounds.
result Rate-equivalent definitions of regret for learning policies.

Unified framework improves diffusion model rewards without full trajectories.

problem Limited theoretical understanding of guided diffusion samplers.
method Developed a unified algorithmic and theoretical framework for diffusion guidance and reward-guided diffusion.
result Framework shows CFG decreases expected reciprocal of classifier probability.

This work extends reinforcement learning to handle non-cumulative objectives.

problem Optimizing functions of rewards rather than their sum in decision processes.
method Mapping NCMDPs to standard MDPs for reinforcement learning.
result Reinforcement learning techniques can be applied to NCMDPs.

We propose RUDDER, a novel reinforcement learning approach for delayed rewards in finite Markov decision processes (MDPs). In MDPs the Q-values are equal to the expected immediate reward plus the expected future rewards. The latter are related to bias problems in temporal difference (TD) learning and to high variance p…

2018-06-20abs ↗pdf ↗

Adjoint Matching improves flow and diffusion models with reward fine-tuning.

problem Improving generative models with reward fine-tuning.
method Casting reward fine-tuning as stochastic optimal control (SOC) and enforcing a specific noise schedule.
result Adjoint Matching outperforms existing SOC algorithms.

A new algorithm uses concavity in Gaussian processes to optimize decisions in bandit problems.

problem Optimizing decisions in sequential problems with context-dependent rewards.
method Proposes a UCB algorithm using a shape-constrained reward function estimator based on a Gaussian Process model with concavity constraints.
result Derives regret bounds for the proposed UCB algorithm.

Improves generative models by optimizing rewards and sample editing.

problem Efficiently generating high-reward samples with structural constraints.
method Introduces MDM-VGB, a discrete diffusion sampler that augments unmasking generation with reward-guided remasking.
result MDM-VGB achieves quadratic complexity and robustness to noise, outperforming heuristics like best-of-NN.

Multi-agent learning is a promising method to simulate aggregate competitive behaviour in finance. Learning expert agents' reward functions through their external demonstrations is hence particularly relevant for subsequent design of realistic agent-based simulations. Inverse Reinforcement Learning (IRL) aims at acquir…

2019-06-11abs ↗pdf ↗

Mitigates biases in reward models using variational inference.

problem Spurious correlations in reward models that align large language models with human preferences.
method Formulates data-generating process, identifies non-spurious latent variables, and uses variational inference to recover them.
result Effective mitigation of spurious correlation issues, yielding more robust reward models.

A new algorithm balances global reward and group constraints in federated multi-armed bandits.

problem Maximizing global reward while protecting client privacy in federated learning.
method Combinatorial contextual bandit with group constraints, using a two-output Gaussian process.
result TCGP-UCB incurs low regret, balancing super arm reward and group reward constraints.

Method predicts future rewards from past actions in a linear Gaussian system.

problem Maximizing cumulative reward in a stochastic multi-armed bandit with linear Gaussian dynamics.
method Proposes a method using a modified Kalman filter to predict future rewards based on past rewards.
result Reward from any action can be used to predict another action's future reward.

Off-policy evaluation for MNAR rewards in MDPs

problem Off-policy evaluation in MDPs with MNAR rewards
method Formalizing a reward-dependent propensity model and using future states as shadow variables
result Proposed an Fitted-Q-Evaluation-style estimator that propagates recovered rewards while allowing target policies to depend on past missingness indicators

New algorithm learns optimal policy for average reward MDPs with sample complexity matching lower bound.

problem Learning optimal policy for average reward in uniformly ergodic MDPs.
method Developed an estimator with sample complexity of O(|S||A|t_{mix}ε^{-2}).
result First algorithm to match lower bound of existing literature.

New algorithm for reward-free RL with linear function approximation, reducing sample complexity.

problem Efficiently learning optimal policies without prior reward information in complex environments.
method Developed an algorithm for reward-free RL in linear Markov decision processes, proving sample complexity bounds.
result Polynomial sample complexity in feature dimension and planning horizon, independent of states and actions.

Trajectory-level supervision allows efficient offline reinforcement learning.

problem Offline reinforcement learning
method Developing a statistical theory for offline policy optimization from trajectory-level labels
result Proving a high-probability guarantee of order O~(H2Csa(π)/n)\widetilde O(H^2\sqrt{C_{sa}(\pi^\star)/n})

Develops first-order methods for average-reward MDPs with strong guarantees.

problem Lack of strong theoretical guarantees for first-order methods in AMDPs.
method Average-reward stochastic policy mirror descent (SPMD) and variance-reduced temporal difference (VRTD) methods.
result Establishes sample complexity results for solving AMDPs.

A stochastic model helps maintain insufficiently funded pension funds.

problem Maintaining pension funds that are underfunded and require external financing.
method A time-homogeneous diffusion process with a barrier is used to model the unrestricted reserves value, and a renewal-reward process models the financing effort.
result Expected values and cost evaluations of maintenance are derived, and the approach is applied to a generalized Brownian motion process.

This work improves Q-learning for average-reward MDPs, reducing sample and communication complexities in federated settings.

problem Improving sample complexity of Q-learning for average-reward MDPs.
method Simple Q-learning algorithm with carefully chosen parameters for both single-agent and federated scenarios.
result Established first federated Q-learning algorithm for average-reward MDPs with provable efficiency in sample and communication complexities.

Algorithm learns diffusion processes with high-dimensional state spaces.

problem Stochastic control of unbounded diffusion processes with high-dimensional state spaces.
method Adaptive partitioning and learning algorithm that refines discretization based on estimation bias and statistical confidence.
result Established regret bounds that depend on problem parameters, extending to unbounded diffusion processes.