Related papers: On the correctness of monadic backward induction
This paper proposes a computationally tractable algorithm for learning infinite-horizon average-reward linear mixture Markov decision processes (MDPs) under the Bellman optimality condition. Our algorithm for linear mixture MDPs achieves a…
This paper develops a viable notion of learning for sampling-based algorithms that applies in broader settings than previously considered. More specifically, we model a discounted infinite-horizon MDPs with Borel state and action spaces,…
Today's complex robotic designs comprise in some cases a large number of degrees of freedom, enabling for multi-objective task resolution (e.g., humanoid robots or aerial manipulators). This paper tackles the stability problem of a…
Many sequential decision problems can be formulated as Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) where the optimal value function (or cost-to-go function) can be shown to satisfy a monotone structure in some or all of its dimensions. When the state…
The spectral deferred correction (SDC) method is class of iterative solvers for ordinary differential equations (ODEs). It can be interpreted as a preconditioned Picard iteration for the collocation problem. The convergence of this method…
A matrix optimization problem over an uncertain linear system on finite horizon (abbreviated as MOPUL) is studied, in which the uncertain transition matrix is regarded as a decision variable. This problem is in general NP-hard. By using the…
The Markov Decision Process (MDP) is a popular framework for sequential decision-making problems, and uncertainty quantification is an essential component of it to learn optimal decision-making strategies. In particular, a Bayesian…
This work provides test error bounds for iterative fixed point methods on linear predictors -- specifically, stochastic and batch mirror descent (MD), and stochastic temporal difference learning (TD) -- with two core contributions: (a) a…
The problem of stopping stochastic gradient descent (SGD) in an online manner, based solely on the observed trajectory, is a challenging theoretical problem with significant consequences for applications. While SGD is routinely monitored as…
In constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) with adversarial rewards and constraints, a well-known impossibility result prevents any algorithm from attaining both sublinear regret and sublinear constraint violation, when competing…
Constrained Markov Decision Processes (CMDPs) formalize sequential decision-making problems whose objective is to minimize a cost function while satisfying constraints on various cost functions. In this paper, we consider the setting of…
Mirror descent (MD) is a powerful first-order optimization technique that subsumes several optimization algorithms including gradient descent (GD). In this work, we develop a semi-definite programming (SDP) framework to analyze the…
Over the past fifty years, numerous software defect prediction (SDP) approaches have been proposed. However, the ability to explain why predictors make certain predictions remains limited. Explainable SDP has emerged as a promising solution…
Here, we explore the problem of error propagation mitigation in modular digital twins as a sequential decision process. Building on a companion study that used a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to infer latent error regimes from surrogate-physics…
Saddle point problems, ubiquitous in optimization, extend beyond game theory to diverse domains like power networks and reinforcement learning. This paper presents novel approaches to tackle saddle point problem, with a focus on…
This paper addresses the challenge of solving Constrained Markov Decision Processes (CMDPs) with $d > 1$ constraints when the transition dynamics are unknown, but samples can be drawn from a generative model. We propose a model-based…
Many real-world sequential decision-making problems involve critical systems with financial risks and human-life risks. While several works in the past have proposed methods that are safe for deployment, they assume that the underlying…
In this work, we study discrete-time Markov decision processes (MDPs) under constraints with Borel state and action spaces and where all the performance functions have the same form of the expected total reward (ETR) criterion over the…
This article considers the stochastic optimal control of discrete-time linear systems subject to (possibly) unbounded stochastic disturbances, hard constraints on the manipulated variables, and joint chance constraints on the states. A…
We present the first finite time global convergence analysis of policy gradient in the context of infinite horizon average reward Markov decision processes (MDPs). Specifically, we focus on ergodic tabular MDPs with finite state and action…