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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.

168,694 papers · 148 categories

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153306459612 · Jun 202019922001200920172026
48 results for State abstractions

This paper simplifies OPE in large state spaces using state abstractions.

problem Accurately evaluating policies offline in large state spaces.
method Developed a backward-model-irrelevance condition and an iterative state abstraction procedure.
result Deeply-abstracted states substantially simplify OPE sample complexity.

Algorithm finds latent structure in value functions for improved reinforcement learning.

problem Finding latent structure in value functions for efficient reinforcement learning.
method Proposes a practical algorithm using two posterior distributions over state abstractions and abstract-state values.
result Substantial performance gains in multi-task settings where tasks share a common, low-dimensional representation.

Abstract MDPs enable strategic exploration and fast reward transfer in complex environments.

problem Challenging to learn accurate MDPs for high-dimensional states.
method Learn an abstract MDP over low-dimensional coarse states, using an abstraction function.
result Achieves superhuman performance on Pitfall! and higher reward with fewer samples.

Deep neural network learns discrete state abstractions for efficient planning.

problem Efficient sequential decision making in large state spaces.
method Information bottleneck method for learning approximate bisimulations using deep neural encoders and action-conditioned HMM.
result Trained method efficiently plans for unseen goals in multi-goal reinforcement learning.

The paper proposes a principle for dynamically adjusting the granularity of reinforcement learning abstractions.

problem Lack of general principles for dynamically adjusting the granularity of reinforcement learning abstractions.
method The paper proposes a principle based on rate-distortion theory, formalized through a performance certificate decomposing value error into learning and abstraction error bounds.
result Soft state-action abstractions can achieve near-optimal performance under substantial lossy compression of state and action information.

Can simple algorithms with a good representation solve challenging reinforcement learning problems? In this work, we answer this question in the affirmative, where we take "simple learning algorithm" to be tabular Q-Learning, the "good representations" to be a learned state abstraction, and "challenging problems" to be…

2020-02-08abs ↗pdf ↗

The paper introduces a method to learn Markov state abstractions for reinforcement learning.

problem Learning Markov state representations in complex environments.
method The paper introduces a novel set of conditions and a training procedure combining inverse model estimation and temporal contrastive learning.
result The approach learns representations that capture the underlying structure of the domain and improve sample efficiency.

STAR framework reduces OPE variance by distilling complex problems into discrete ARPs.

problem High variance and bias in off-policy evaluation methods.
method STAR framework that includes various OPE estimators and leverages state abstraction.
result Predictions from ARPs estimated from off-policy data are asymptotically correct.

Planning methods can solve temporally extended sequential decision making problems by composing simple behaviors. However, planning requires suitable abstractions for the states and transitions, which typically need to be designed by hand. In contrast, model-free reinforcement learning (RL) can acquire behaviors from l…

2019-11-19abs ↗pdf ↗

This work defines a complexity measure for BAMDP planning and introduces state abstraction for more efficient approximate planning.

problem The computational intractability of exact BAMDP planning solutions.
method Define a complexity measure for BAMDP planning, introduce state abstraction, and develop an approximate planning algorithm.
result Introduces a computationally tractable approximate planning algorithm using state abstraction.

This work extends HiP-MDPs to robust state abstractions for multi-task and meta-reinforcement learning.

problem Limited observability of state in HiP-MDPs for real-world scenarios with rich observation spaces.
method Inspired by Block MDPs, the work extends HiP-MDPs to enable robust state abstractions for multi-task and meta-reinforcement learning.
result Transfer and generalization bounds based on task and state similarity, and sample complexity bounds that depend on the aggregate number of samples across tasks.

Abstraction of Markov Decision Processes is a useful tool for solving complex problems, as it can ignore unimportant aspects of an environment, simplifying the process of learning an optimal policy. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for finding abstract MDPs in environments with continuous state spaces. It is b…

2018-11-30abs ↗pdf ↗

This paper presents a way of solving Markov Decision Processes that combines state abstraction and temporal abstraction. Specifically, we combine state aggregation with the options framework and demonstrate that they work well together and indeed it is only after one combines the two that the full benefit of each is re…

2015-01-16abs ↗pdf ↗

SPEDER extracts state-action abstraction from dynamics for reinforcement learning.

problem Curse of dimensionality and limited applicability of spectral methods.
method Spectral Decomposition Representation (SPEDER) that extracts state-action abstraction from dynamics without policy dependence.
result Theoretical analysis establishes sample efficiency in online and offline settings.

Portfolio turnpikes state that, as the investment horizon increases, optimal portfolios for generic utilities converge to those of isoelastic utilities. This paper proves three kinds of turnpikes. In a general semimartingale setting, the abstract turnpike states that optimal final payoffs and portfolios converge under …

2011-01-05abs ↗pdf ↗

A new layer learns abstract relations from graph structure using finite-state automata.

problem Learning abstract relations from graph structure for program analysis.
method Relaxing the problem into learning finite-state automata policies on a graph-based POMDP and training these policies using implicit differentiation.
result GFSA layer finds shortcuts in grid-world graphs and reproduces simple static analyses on Python programs.

Paper learns meaningful state and action representations from MDP trajectories.

problem Learning good state and action representations from MDP trajectories.
method Tensor decomposition, kernelization, importance sampling, low-Tucker-rank approximation.
result The learned state/action abstractions provide accurate approximations to latent block structures.

TASID learns policies in high-dimensional settings with abstract simulator knowledge.

problem RL in high-dimensional settings with limited observation knowledge.
method TASID algorithm for transfer RL from abstract simulator with bounded perturbations.
result Sample complexity polynomial in horizon, independent of number of states.

Although exploration in reinforcement learning is well understood from a theoretical point of view, provably correct methods remain impractical. In this paper we study the interplay between exploration and approximation, what we call approximate exploration. Our main goal is to further our theoretical understanding of …

2018-08-29abs ↗pdf ↗

XIMP improves molecular property prediction by integrating multiple graph representations.

problem Graph neural networks struggle in data-scarce regimes and fail to surpass traditional methods.
method Cross-graph inter-message passing with multiple graph abstractions.
result XIMP outperforms state-of-the-art baselines across diverse molecular property tasks.

Resolving abstract anaphora is an important, but difficult task for text understanding. Yet, with recent advances in representation learning this task becomes a more tangible aim. A central property of abstract anaphora is that it establishes a relation between the anaphor embedded in the anaphoric sentence and its (ty…

2017-06-07abs ↗pdf ↗

Tasks like code generation and semantic parsing require mapping unstructured (or partially structured) inputs to well-formed, executable outputs. We introduce abstract syntax networks, a modeling framework for these problems. The outputs are represented as abstract syntax trees (ASTs) and constructed by a decoder with …

2017-04-25abs ↗pdf ↗

Automatic summarization of natural language is a current topic in computer science research and industry, studied for decades because of its usefulness across multiple domains. For example, summarization is necessary to create reviews such as this one. Research and applications have achieved some success in extractive …

2018-12-18abs ↗pdf ↗

We introduce a variational approach to learning and inference of temporally hierarchical structure and representation for sequential data. We propose the Variational Temporal Abstraction (VTA), a hierarchical recurrent state space model that can infer the latent temporal structure and thus perform the stochastic state …

2019-10-02abs ↗pdf ↗

We prove the rigidity of presymplectic actions of a compact semisimple Lie algebra on a presymplectic manifold of constant rank in the local and global case. The proof uses an abstract normal form theorem we had stated in a previous work, based on an iterative process of Nash-Moser type. In order to use correctly this …

2016-01-06abs ↗pdf ↗

COTA learns abstraction maps from data without complete SCM knowledge.

problem Learning causally consistent representations at different resolutions.
method Multi-marginal Optimal Transport (OT) with do-calculus constraints and interventional cost.
result COTA outperforms non-causal and independent formulations on synthetic and real-world problems.

Survey examines challenges and solutions in sim-to-real transfer for robotics.

problem Challenges in transferring robotic systems from simulation to real-world environments.
method Leveraging techniques like domain randomization, real-to-sim transfer, state and action abstractions, and sim-real co-training.
result Promising results in closing the reality gap across various robotic domains.

To act and plan in complex environments, we posit that agents should have a mental simulator of the world with three characteristics: (a) it should build an abstract state representing the condition of the world; (b) it should form a belief which represents uncertainty on the world; (c) it should go beyond simple step-…

2018-06-08abs ↗pdf ↗

Improved reinforcement learning with deep learning.

problem Extending MultiGrid Reinforcement Learning to work with deep learning.
method Combining potential-based reward shaping with a learned potential function from interaction, and adapting it for deep learning algorithms.
result DQN augmented with the approach performs significantly better on continuous control tasks.

Develops hierarchical reinforcement learning value function approximators.

problem Estimating long-term returns in reinforcement learning with multiple goals.
method Introduces hierarchical universal value function approximators (H-UVFAs) using the options framework.
result Demonstrates generalization and improved performance of H-UVFAs over UVFAs.

Temporal abstraction refers to the ability of an agent to use behaviours of controllers which act for a limited, variable amount of time. The options framework describes such behaviours as consisting of a subset of states in which they can initiate, an internal policy and a stochastic termination condition. However, mu…

2020-01-01abs ↗pdf ↗

In the quest for efficient and robust reinforcement learning methods, both model-free and model-based approaches offer advantages. In this paper we propose a new way of explicitly bridging both approaches via a shared low-dimensional learned encoding of the environment, meant to capture summarizing abstractions. We sho…

2018-09-12abs ↗pdf ↗

MXGNet tackles visual reasoning tasks using graph neural networks.

problem Abstract reasoning, especially in the visual domain, is challenging for AI.
method Combines object-level representations, graph neural networks, and multiplex graphs.
result Achieves state-of-the-art accuracy on Euler Diagram Syllogisms and outperforms state-of-the-art models on RPM datasets.

Though reinforcement learning has greatly benefited from the incorporation of neural networks, the inability to verify the correctness of such systems limits their use. Current work in explainable deep learning focuses on explaining only a single decision in terms of input features, making it unsuitable for explaining …

2019-05-28abs ↗pdf ↗

A planning approach learns skills from interactions, balancing exploration and exploitation.

problem Learning robust high-level skills in noisy environments with unknown pre-conditions.
method Formulates skills as high-level policies, learns plans via bandit problems, balances exploration and exploitation.
result A planner capable of learning robust high-level skills in high-dimensional state spaces.