Optimal resource allocation in censored semi-bandits with unknown thresholds.
problem Sequential resource allocation with unknown thresholds and hidden parameters.
method Established equivalence to MP-MAB and Combinatorial Semi-Bandits, derived optimal algorithms.
result Validated performance of proposed algorithms on synthetic data.
The paper tackles budget allocation for multiple campaigns using a novel combinatorial bandit approach.
problem Maximizing cumulative returns with limited budgets across various ad lines.
method Formulated as a multi-task combinatorial bandit problem, integrates Bayesian hierarchical models, and uses Thompson sampling.
result Demonstrates robustness and adaptability in maximizing overall cumulative returns.
In this paper, we study censored Semi-Bandits, a novel variant of the semi-bandits problem. The learner is assumed to have a fixed amount of resources, which it allocates to the arms at each time step. The loss observed from an arm is random and depends on the amount of resources allocated to it. More specifically, the…
Study resource allocation strategies in sequential decisions with unknown rewards.
problem Sequential resource allocation with unknown rewards.
method Design combinatorial multi-armed bandit algorithms for discrete or continuous budgets.
result Prove algorithms achieve logarithmic cumulative regret under semi-bandit feedback.
A new online learning problem, CAB, tackles matching platforms to maximize user satisfaction.
problem Maximizing matches in a matching platform can lead to dissatisfaction and churn.
method Developed CAB, an online learning problem that maximizes arm satisfaction, and analyzed algorithms like UCB and Thompson sampling.
result CAB-UCB achieves higher cumulative satisfaction than baselines in experiments.
New framework tackles submodular welfare with multi-agent combinatorial bandits.
problem Maximizing total welfare among agents with shared constraints and submodular utilities under bandit feedback.
method Proposes an explore-then-commit strategy with randomized assignments for multi-agent combinatorial bandits.
result Achieves i l d e O ( T 2 / 3 ) ilde{\mathcal{O}}(T^{2/3}) i l d e O ( T 2/3 ) regret, first for partition-based submodular welfare problem under bandit feedback. New algorithm tackles unknown utility network resource allocation.
problem Maximizing network utility with unknown agent utilities.
method Modeling as a bandit problem, proposing algorithms for resource allocation.
result Proposed algorithms are optimal when all agents have the same utility.
New algorithm optimizes beam and rate allocation in mmWave systems for multiple users.
problem Optimizing beam and rate allocation in mmWave systems for multiple users with limited feedback.
method Introducing SAT-CTS, a combinatorial semi-bandit policy with satisficing objective.
result SAT-CTS achieves finite-time regret bounds and reduces satisficing regret in mmWave systems.
New dynamic allocation methods for multi-armed bandit models.
problem Dynamic allocation problems in multi-armed bandit models.
method New types of dynamic allocation problems and proofs for Gittins index decomposition.
result New proofs for Gittins index decomposition and related results.
Paper introduces novel Bandit algorithms for non-stationary environments in finance.
problem Non-stationary reward distributions in financial markets.
method Introduces Adaptive Discounted Thompson Sampling (ADTS) and Combinatorial Adaptive Discounted Thompson Sampling (CADTS) for non-stationary environments in portfolio optimization.
result Bandit Networks improve portfolio optimization performance by 20% compared to classical models.
Polynomial-time method solves complex combinatorial semi-bandits.
problem Optimal strategies for combinatorial semi-bandits with uncorrelated Gaussian rewards.
method Proposes a polynomial-time method to solve the Graves-Lai optimization problem for various combinatorial structures.
result First known approach to implement asymptotically optimal algorithms in polynomial time for combinatorial semi-bandits.
Given a huge set of applicants, how should a firm allocate sequential resume screenings, phone interviews, and in-person site visits? In a tiered interview process, later stages (e.g., in-person visits) are more informative, but also more expensive than earlier stages (e.g., resume screenings). Using accepted hiring mo…
New algorithm eliminates arms to minimize regret in complex bandit problems.
problem Minimizing regret in combinatorial bandit problems with explicit exploration.
method Introduces a novel arm elimination scheme that partitions arms into three categories and incorporates explicit exploration.
result Achieves near-optimal regret in combinatorial multi-armed and linear contextual bandit problems.
Improved statistical efficiency of Thompson Sampling for combinatorial semi-bandits.
problem Efficiency of policies in stochastic combinatorial multi-armed bandits with semi-bandit feedback.
method Analysis of Combinatorial Thompson Sampling (CTS) using Beta and Gaussian priors for mutually independent and multivariate sub-Gaussian outcomes.
result CTS provides an efficient policy with optimal asymptotic regret for both mutually independent and multivariate sub-Gaussian outcomes.
New metric measures variability in bandit algorithms, linking regret and variability.
problem Variability in multi-armed bandit allocations harms modern applications.
method Introduces allocation variability as a new metric and establishes a trade-off with regret.
result Any minimax regret-optimal algorithm must incur worst-case allocation variability Θ(T).
Algorithm allocates budgets to tasks with semi-bandit feedback, achieving near-optimal regret bounds.
problem Stochastic budget allocation with censored semi-bandit feedback.
method Optimism-based algorithm operating under censored semi-bandit feedback.
result Regret scales polylogarithmically with horizon T in diminishing-returns regimes.
Paper solves no-swap regret minimization for combinatorial bandits with polylogarithmic dependence on N.
problem Design efficient no-swap regret algorithms for combinatorial bandits with exponentially large action space.
method Introduces a no-swap-regret learning algorithm with polylogarithmic dependence on N and demonstrates efficient implementation.
result Achieves no-swap regret with polylogarithmic dependence on N, resolving an open problem.
Study non-linear combinatorial bandits with polynomial rewards, finding significant differences from linear cases.
problem Adversarial combinatorial bandits with general non-linear reward functions.
method Extending existing work on adversarial linear combinatorial bandits, analyzing minimax optimal regret for polynomial and non-polynomial reward functions.
result Minimax optimal regret bounds for adversarial combinatorial bandits with general non-linear reward functions.
Paper analyzes FTPL's effectiveness in combinatorial semi-bandit problems.
problem Optimizing FTPL policy in combinatorial semi-bandit problems.
method Geometric resampling (GR) and conditional geometric resampling (CGR) for FTPL in semi-bandit setting.
result FTPL achieves optimal regret bounds in both Fréchet and Pareto distributions.
New algorithms for neural bandits learn from context and arm features.
problem Learning from context and arm features in combinatorial bandit problems.
method Proposed algorithms CN-UCB and CN-TS using deep neural networks.
result Achieved regret guarantees for the first time in combinatorial neural bandits.
Oracle-efficient algorithms reduce combinatorial semi-bandit regret to logarithmic time.
problem Scalability issue in combinatorial semi-bandit problems due to high combinatorial optimization costs.
method Oracle-efficient frameworks that minimize oracle queries while maintaining tight regret guarantees.
result Achieved i l d e O ( T ) ilde{O}(\sqrt{T}) i l d e O ( T ) regret with O ( log log T ) O(\log\log T) O ( log log T ) oracle queries for worst-case linear rewards. Algorithm identifies best arm in combinatorial bandits with semi-bandit feedback.
problem Identifying the best arm in combinatorial bandits with semi-bandit feedback.
method Interpreted as a sequential zero-sum game, developed a CombGame meta-algorithm with finite time guarantees.
result First computationally efficient algorithm that is asymptotically optimal and has competitive empirical performance.
Top-k Combinatorial Bandits generalize multi-armed bandits, where at each round any subset of k k k out of n n n arms may be chosen and the sum of the rewards is gained. We address the full-bandit feedback, in which the agent observes only the sum of rewards, in contrast to the semi-bandit feedback, in which the agent obse…
Study explores strategies for randomized allocation in delayed rewards bandits.
problem Understanding the exploration-exploitation tradeoff in randomized strategies with delayed rewards.
method Examines two strategies: updating exploration sequence at every time point vs. updating only when a new reward is observed.
result The strategy updating only when a new reward is observed leads to strong consistency in allocation for a wider scope of situations.
Maximising the detection of intrusions is a fundamental and often critical aim of perimeter surveillance. Commonly, this requires a decision-maker to optimally allocate multiple searchers to segments of the perimeter. We consider a scenario where the decision-maker may sequentially update the searchers' allocation, lea…
New algorithms tackle adversarial combinatorial bandits with switching costs.
problem Adversarial combinatorial bandits with switching costs.
method Design algorithms operating in batches to restrict switches, proving lower bounds and achieving upper bounds on regret.
result Achieved upper bounds on regret for both bandit and semi-bandit feedback settings.
Adaptive compute allocation improves model performance by prioritizing harder queries.
problem Inefficiency in allocating test-time compute uniformly across all queries.
method Formulated as a bandit learning problem, proposed adaptive algorithms that estimate query difficulty and allocate compute accordingly.
result Achieved up to 15.29% relative performance improvement on various benchmarks.
We investigate the piecewise-stationary combinatorial semi-bandit problem. Compared to the original combinatorial semi-bandit problem, our setting assumes the reward distributions of base arms may change in a piecewise-stationary manner at unknown time steps. We propose an algorithm, \texttt{GLR-CUCB}, which incorporat…
Thompson Sampling shows polynomial regret for combinatorial semi-bandits with subgaussian rewards.
problem Finding optimal solutions in combinatorial semi-bandits with suboptimal sampling.
method Proposes Thompson Sampling with polynomial regret for linear combinatorial semi-bandits.
result Demonstrates 'mismatched sampling paradox' where knowing distributions can lead to worse performance.
Master-slave architecture tackles combinatorial multi-armed bandits with diversity constraints.
problem Solving top- K K K combinatorial multi-armed bandits with non-linear feedback and diversity constraints. method Master-slave architecture with six slave models, teacher learning, and policy co-training.
result Significantly outperforms existing algorithms in synthetic and real datasets.
A new algorithm balances exploration and exploitation in online decision-making.
problem Balancing exploration and exploitation in online decision-making.
method Proposed C 4 C^4 C 4 -UCB algorithm incorporating conservative mechanism. result Proved n-step upper regret bound for two situations.
This paper extends combinatorial semi-bandits to graph feedback, improving regret bounds.
problem Adversarial combinatorial semi-bandits with graph feedback.
method Introduced graph feedback in combinatorial semi-bandits, using convexified actions and online stochastic mirror descent.
result Optimal regret scales as S T + α S T S\sqrt{T}+\sqrt{αST} S T + α S T , interpolating between full and semi-bandit feedback. New lower bounds for combinatorial multi-armed bandits for general reward functions.
problem Maximizing reward in sequential decisions with sets of arms.
method Proved tight regret lower bounds for all smooth reward functions under mild assumptions.
result Lower bounds are tight up to log-factors for monotone reward functions.
This paper tackles combinatorial optimization under uncertainty with limited feedback.
problem Tackling combinatorial optimization problems with uncertain or unknown parameters.
method Review of techniques for combinatorial pure exploration with limited bandit feedback.
result Introduction of methods for combinatorial optimization under uncertainty with limited observation.
Algorithm identifies best arm with prior info in structured bandits.
problem Bayesian fixed-budget best-arm identification in structured bandits.
method Prior-dependent allocations based on structure and prior information.
result Improved theoretical bounds and robust performance across diverse models.
CRB tackles rising rewards in combinatorial online learning.
problem Rising rewards in combinatorial online learning.
method CRB framework and CRUCB algorithm.
result Empirical and theoretical validation of CRUCB's effectiveness.
Influence maximization, adaptive routing, and dynamic spectrum allocation all require choosing the right action from a large set of alternatives. Thanks to the advances in combinatorial optimization, these and many similar problems can be efficiently solved given an environment with known stochasticity. In this paper, …
Optimal strategy found for identifying best arm in bandits with small gap.
problem Best arm identification in two-armed bandits with a fixed budget and small gap.
method Neyman allocation rule augmented with inverse probability weighting.
result Proposed strategy is asymptotically optimal when gap is small.
This paper investigates stochastic and adversarial combinatorial multi-armed bandit problems. In the stochastic setting under semi-bandit feedback, we derive a problem-specific regret lower bound, and discuss its scaling with the dimension of the decision space. We propose ESCB, an algorithm that efficiently exploits t…
We analyze the regret of combinatorial Thompson sampling (CTS) for the combinatorial multi-armed bandit with probabilistically triggered arms under the semi-bandit feedback setting. We assume that the learner has access to an exact optimization oracle but does not know the expected base arm outcomes beforehand. When th…
Study optimal arms in combinatorial bandits with semi-bandit feedback and finite budget.
problem Finding optimal arms in combinatorial bandits with semi-bandit feedback and finite budget constraints.
method Proposes a generic algorithm covering various arm elimination strategies and derives lower bounds.
result Demonstrates sufficient and necessary budget requirements for finding the best arm.
A new test improves statistical inference in bandit algorithms without sacrificing adaptiveness.
problem Challenges in statistical inference for adaptive randomised experiments in bandits.
method An allocation probability test for Thompson Sampling without trading-off regret or requiring large sample sizes.
result Improves statistical inference in small samples, showing advantages in mental health experiments.
Study efficient resource allocation for detecting extreme values.
problem Efficiently allocate limited resources to detect extreme values in various fields.
method Proposes ExtremeHunter algorithm for sequential resource allocation under limited feedback.
result Demonstrates ExtremeHunter outperforms oracle policy in detecting extreme values.
This work improves privacy in federated combinatorial bandits by balancing regret and privacy.
problem Privacy-preserving learning in competitive online learning settings with quality constraints.
method Proposes P-FCB algorithm for federated combinatorial bandits, balancing regret and privacy.
result Improves regret while maintaining quality constraints and privacy guarantees.
A stochastic combinatorial semi-bandit is an online learning problem where at each step a learning agent chooses a subset of ground items subject to combinatorial constraints, and then observes stochastic weights of these items and receives their sum as a payoff. In this paper, we consider efficient learning in large-s…
This paper optimizes ad bids and daily budgets for multiple campaigns in pay-per-click advertising.
problem Optimizing ad bids and daily budgets for multiple campaigns in pay-per-click advertising.
method Formulated as a combinatorial semi-bandit problem, solved using Gaussian Processes and four algorithms.
result Regret upper bounded as O(sqrt{T}), where T is the time horizon.
Develops a combinatorial semi-bandit method for electric vehicle charging station selection.
problem Long-distance navigation for BEVs with unknown charging station availability and performance.
method Combinatorial semi-bandit framework, pre-processing road network, Bayesian modeling, Thompson Sampling, BayesUCB, Epsilon-greedy.
result Demonstrates improved navigation performance on long-distance BEV charging station selection.
Optimistic covariance-adaptive algorithms improve combinatorial semi-bandits regret.
problem Optimal regret in stochastic combinatorial semi-bandits with adaptive covariance estimation.
method Design of OLS-UCB-C and COS-V algorithms leveraging online covariance estimation.
result Improved gap-free regret with T^1/2 complexity for COS-V.