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Related papers: Stochastic Shortest Path Games and Q-Learning

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We propose the k-Shortest-Path (k-SP) constraint: a novel constraint on the agent's trajectory that improves the sample efficiency in sparse-reward MDPs. We show that any optimal policy necessarily satisfies the k-SP constraint. Notably,…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-07-15 Sungryull Sohn , Sungtae Lee , Jongwook Choi , Harm van Seijen , Mehdi Fatemi , Honglak Lee

This paper investigates the convergence of learning dynamics in Stackelberg games. In the class of games we consider, there is a hierarchical game being played between a leader and a follower with continuous action spaces. We establish a…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2024-12-07 Tanner Fiez , Benjamin Chasnov , Lillian J. Ratliff

We consider zero-sum stochastic differential games with possibly path-dependent controlled state. Unlike the previous literature, we allow for weak solutions of the state equation so that the players' controls are automatically of feedback…

Probability · Mathematics 2018-08-14 Dylan Possamaï , Nizar Touzi , Jianfeng Zhang

We study pure exploration in structured stochastic multi-armed bandits, aiming to efficiently identify the correct hypothesis from a finite set of alternatives. For a broad class of tasks, asymptotic analyses reduce to a maximin…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-09-25 Xinyu Liu , Chao Qin , Wei You

We consider the problem of finding a control policy for a Markov Decision Process (MDP) to maximize the probability of reaching some states while avoiding some other states. This problem is motivated by applications in robotics, where such…

We consider finite-state concurrent stochastic games, played by k>=2 players for an infinite number of rounds, where in every round, each player simultaneously and independently of the other players chooses an action, whereafter the…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2015-06-09 Krishnendu Chatterjee , Kristoffer Arnsfelt Hansen , Rasmus Ibsen-Jensen

Two-player (antagonistic) games on (possibly stochastic) graphs are a prevalent model in theoretical computer science, notably as a framework for reactive synthesis. Optimal strategies may require randomisation when dealing with inherently…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2024-11-25 James C. A. Main , Mickael Randour

This paper considers a class of reinforcement-based learning (namely, perturbed learning automata) and provides a stochastic-stability analysis in repeatedly-played, positive-utility, finite strategic-form games. Prior work in this class of…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2019-01-29 Georgios C. Chasparis

The Game Description Language (GDL) is a widely used formalism for specifying general games. Due to their similar syntax and semantics, Answer Set Programming (ASP) and its extensions have been applied to single- and two-player…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2026-05-25 Yifan He , Michael Thielscher

This paper presents Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) formulations for two classes of two-player zero-sum games: one with a maximum cost value over time, and one with a minimum cost value over time. In the zero-sum game setting, player A minimizes the…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-06-30 Donggun Lee , Claire J. Tomlin

Stochastic shortest path (SSP) problems arise in a variety of discrete stochastic control contexts. An optimal solutions to such a problem is typically computed using the value function, which can be found by solving the corresponding…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2008-02-29 Alexander Vladimirsky

We propose a method to construct finite-state reactive controllers for systems whose interactions with their adversarial environment are modeled by infinite-duration two-player games over (possibly) infinite graphs. The proposed method…

Formal Languages and Automata Theory · Computer Science 2016-01-08 Daniel Neider , Ufuk Topcu

In a Stackelberg game, a leader commits to a randomized strategy, and a follower chooses their best strategy in response. We consider an extension of a standard Stackelberg game, called a discrete-time dynamic Stackelberg game, that has an…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2022-02-11 Niklas Lauffer , Mahsa Ghasemi , Abolfazl Hashemi , Yagiz Savas , Ufuk Topcu

We propose a novel independent and payoff-based learning framework for stochastic games that is model-free, game-agnostic, and gradient-free. The learning dynamics follow a best-response-type actor-critic architecture, where agents update…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-02-03 Ahmed Said Donmez , Yuksel Arslantas , Muhammed O. Sayin

A general model for zero-sum stochastic games with asymmetric information is considered. In this model, each player's information at each time can be divided into a common information part and a private information part. Under certain…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2019-12-25 Dhruva Kartik , Ashutosh Nayyar

We study the problem of estimating the optimal Q-function of $\gamma$-discounted Markov decision processes (MDPs) under the synchronous setting, where independent samples for all state-action pairs are drawn from a generative model at each…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2025-05-27 Mohammad Boveiri , Peyman Mohajerin Esfahani

In this work, we present the first finite-time analysis of Q-learning with time-varying learning policies (i.e., on-policy sampling) for discounted Markov decision processes under minimal assumptions, requiring only the existence of a…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-04-07 Phalguni Nanda , Zaiwei Chen

Quadratic Programming (QP) is the well-studied problem of maximizing over {-1,1} values the quadratic form \sum_{i \ne j} a_{ij} x_i x_j. QP captures many known combinatorial optimization problems, and assuming the unique games conjecture,…

Computational Complexity · Computer Science 2015-03-17 Aditya Bhaskara , Moses Charikar , Rajsekar Manokaran , Aravindan Vijayaraghavan

We consider turn-based stochastic two-player games with a combination of a parity condition that must hold surely, that is in all possible outcomes, and of a parity condition that must hold almost-surely, that is with probability 1. The…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2026-01-08 Laurent Doyen , Shibashis Guha

This paper studies a two-player game with a quantitative surveillance requirement on an adversarial target moving in a discrete state space and a secondary objective to maximize short-term visibility of the environment. We impose the…

Robotics · Computer Science 2019-11-19 Suda Bharadwaj , Louis Ly , Bo Wu , Richard Tsai , Ufuk Topcu