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This paper addresses the problem of planning under uncertainty in large Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). Factored MDPs represent a complex state space using state variables and the transition model using a dynamic Bayesian network. This…
Markov decision processes (MDPs) are a popular model for performance analysis and optimization of stochastic systems. The parameters of stochastic behavior of MDPs are estimates from empirical observations of a system; their values are not…
Maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) has been widely employed to measure the distance between probability distributions. In this paper, we propose using MMD to solve continuous multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). For solving MOPs, a…
Natural gradient descent is an optimization method traditionally motivated from the perspective of information geometry, and works well for many applications as an alternative to stochastic gradient descent. In this paper we critically…
Many machine learning models depend on solving a large scale optimization problem. Recently, sub-sampled Newton methods have emerged to attract much attention for optimization due to their efficiency at each iteration, rectified a weakness…
This paper proposes and justifies two globally convergent Newton-type methods to solve unconstrained and constrained problems of nonsmooth optimization by using tools of variational analysis and generalized differentiation. Both methods are…
Natural policy gradient (NPG) methods are among the most widely used policy optimization algorithms in contemporary reinforcement learning. This class of methods is often applied in conjunction with entropy regularization -- an algorithmic…
In this paper, we introduce a quasi-Newton method optimized for efficiently solving quasi-linear elliptic equations and systems, with a specific focus on GPU-based computation. By approximating the Jacobian matrix with a combination of…
Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) have been used to formulate many decision-making problems in science and engineering. The objective is to synthesize the best decision (action selection) policies to maximize expected rewards (or minimize…
In this paper, we study Newton-conjugate gradient (Newton-CG) methods for minimizing a nonconvex function $f$ whose Hessian is $(H_f,\nu)$-H\"older continuous with modulus $H_f>0$ and exponent $\nu\in(0,1]$. Recently proposed Newton-CG…
The use of network Newton methods for the decentralized optimization of a sum cost distributed through agents of a network is considered. Network Newton methods reinterpret distributed gradient descent as a penalty method, observe that the…
We consider deterministic Markov decision processes (MDPs) and apply max-plus algebra tools to approximate the value iteration algorithm by a smaller-dimensional iteration based on a representation on dictionaries of value functions. The…
Markov decision processes (MDPs) describe sequential decision-making processes; MDP policies return for every state in that process an advised action. Classical algorithms can efficiently compute policies that are optimal with respect to,…
Hessian information speeds convergence substantially in motion optimization. The better the Hessian approximation the better the convergence. But how good is a given approximation theoretically? How much are we losing? This paper addresses…
In this paper we provide faster algorithms for approximately solving discounted Markov Decision Processes in multiple parameter regimes. Given a discounted Markov Decision Process (DMDP) with $|S|$ states, $|A|$ actions, discount factor…
In this paper, we consider a strongly convex finite-sum minimization problem over a decentralized network and propose a communication-efficient decentralized Newton's method for solving it. We first apply dynamic average consensus (DAC) so…
Markov Decision Processes (MDP) is an useful framework to cast optimal sequential decision making problems. Given any MDP the aim is to find the optimal action selection mechanism i.e., the optimal policy. Typically, the optimal policy…
We present a method for solving implicit (factored) Markov decision processes (MDPs) with very large state spaces. We introduce a property of state space partitions which we call epsilon-homogeneity. Intuitively, an epsilon-homogeneous…
In this paper, we propose new methods to efficiently solve convex optimization problems encountered in sparse estimation, which include a new quasi-Newton method that avoids computing the Hessian matrix and improves efficiency, and we prove…
Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) provide an elegant mathematical framework for modeling complex decision and planning problems in stochastic domains in which states of the system are observable only indirectly, via a…