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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.

168,742 papers · 148 categories

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129257386514 · Jun 202019922001200920172026
48 results for abstract reward processes

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.

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.

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.

\begin{abstract} We model individual T2DM patient blood glucose level (BGL) by stochastic process with discrete number of states mainly but not solely governed by medication regimen (e.g. insulin injections). BGL states change otherwise according to various physiological triggers which render a stochastic, statisticall…

2017-10-21abs ↗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.

Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) are a powerful abstraction for tasks that require decision making under uncertainty, and capture a wide range of real world tasks. Today, effective planning approaches exist that generate effective strategies given black-box models of a POMDP task. Yet, an open qu…

2018-05-23abs ↗pdf ↗

A new estimator reduces variance in slate bandit OPE.

problem Large action spaces in slate bandits cause high variance in OPE.
method Develops Latent IPS (LIPS) to optimize slate abstractions for low variance and bias.
result LIPS substantially outperforms existing estimators in scenarios with non-linear rewards and large slate spaces.

CGAs estimate team performance from data, simplifying SV computation.

problem Predicting and rewarding team performance using game theory.
method Cooperative game abstractions (CGAs) for estimating characteristic functions from data.
result CGAs enable linear-time computation of Shapley Value for team contributions.

Reinforcement learning in complex environments is a challenging problem. In particular, the success of reinforcement learning algorithms depends on a well-designed reward function. Inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) solves the problem of recovering reward functions from expert demonstrations. In this paper, we solve …

2019-11-07abs ↗pdf ↗

We propose a new approach to inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) based on the deep Gaussian process (deep GP) model, which is capable of learning complicated reward structures with few demonstrations. Our model stacks multiple latent GP layers to learn abstract representations of the state feature space, which is link…

2015-12-26abs ↗pdf ↗

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 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.

The abstract explores connections between reinforcement learning, scaling, and diffusion.

problem Aligning reinforcement learning with human feedback and scaling techniques.
method Clarifying connections between reinforcement learning, scaling, and diffusion.
result Introducing a resampling approach for alignment and reward-directed diffusion models.

Study investigates how simple speech sounds can form abstract categories.

problem How do abstract categories like phonemes emerge from speech exposure?
method Used modeling techniques to test Memory-Based Learning and Error-Correction Learning.
result Error-Correction Learning models can learn abstractions, identifying phone inventory and grouping.

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.

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.

An agent that has well understood the environment should be able to apply its skills for any given goals, leading to the fundamental problem of learning the Universal Value Function Approximator (UVFA). A UVFA learns to predict the cumulative rewards between all state-goal pairs. However, empirically, the value functio…

2019-08-15abs ↗pdf ↗

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.

Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms can suffer from poor sample efficiency when rewards are delayed and sparse. We introduce a solution that enables agents to learn temporally extended actions at multiple levels of abstraction in a sample efficient and automated fashion. Our approach combines universal value functio…

2018-05-21abs ↗pdf ↗

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.

Enhances BO with expert preferences about abstract properties.

problem Lack of expert knowledge in BO for black-box experimental design.
method Human-AI collaboration to incorporate expert preferences into surrogate modeling.
result Superior performance compared to baselines in synthetic and real-world datasets.

New approach to abstract neural network representations using renormalization group.

problem Developing truly abstract representations in neural networks.
method Renormalization group approach to expand representations to encompass broader data sets.
result Representations in neural networks become more abstract as data breadth increases and depth increases.

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.

We propose a method for efficient training of Q-functions for continuous-state Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) such that the traces of the resulting policies satisfy a given Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) property. LTL, a modal logic, can express a wide range of time-dependent logical properties (including "safety") that…

2018-09-20abs ↗pdf ↗

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.

Curious hierarchical reinforcement learning improves learning performance.

problem Combining hierarchical abstraction and curiosity-driven exploration in reinforcement learning.
method Developed a method that combines hierarchical reinforcement learning with curiosity.
result Curiosity can more than double learning performance and success rates.

New AI learns like neurons, generalizing from sparse rewards.

problem Designing AI that learns without explicit instructions and applies that learning to sparse reward scenarios.
method Combining neuroscience principles with computational efficiency, creating the Neurons-in-a-Box architecture.
result The architecture can learn efficiently and generalize across various tasks, including challenging environments.

Hierarchical reinforcement learning is a promising approach to tackle long-horizon decision-making problems with sparse rewards. Unfortunately, most methods still decouple the lower-level skill acquisition process and the training of a higher level that controls the skills in a new task. Leaving the skills fixed can le…

2019-06-13abs ↗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.

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.

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.

A key challenge in complex visuomotor control is learning abstract representations that are effective for specifying goals, planning, and generalization. To this end, we introduce universal planning networks (UPN). UPNs embed differentiable planning within a goal-directed policy. This planning computation unrolls a for…

2018-04-02abs ↗pdf ↗

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 ↗