Related papers: Policy Optimization for Markovian Jump Linear Quad…
We study the problem of computing deterministic optimal policies for constrained Markov decision processes (MDPs) with continuous state and action spaces, which are widely encountered in constrained dynamical systems. Designing…
We develop a model-free approach to optimally control stochastic, Markovian systems subject to a reach-avoid constraint. Specifically, the state trajectory must remain within a safe set while reaching a target set within a finite time…
In this work we study the convergence of gradient methods for nonconvex optimization problems -- specifically the effect of the problem formulation to the convergence behavior of the solution of a gradient flow. We show through a simple…
We propose a comprehensive framework for policy gradient methods tailored to continuous time reinforcement learning. This is based on the connection between stochastic control problems and randomised problems, enabling applications across…
We address the problem of finding the optimal policy of a constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) using a gradient descent-based algorithm. Previous results have shown that a primal-dual approach can achieve an $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{T})$…
In this paper, we analyze the optimization landscape of gradient descent methods for static output feedback (SOF) control of discrete-time linear time-invariant systems with quadratic cost. The SOF setting can be quite common, for example,…
We revisit the finite time analysis of policy gradient methods in the one of the simplest settings: finite state and action MDPs with a policy class consisting of all stochastic policies and with exact gradient evaluations. There has been…
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…
Consider a discrete-time Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) problem solved using policy gradient descent when the system matrices are unknown. The gradient is transmitted across a noisy channel over a finite time horizon using analog…
This paper presents a general description of a parameter estimation inverse problem for systems governed by nonlinear differential equations. The inverse problem is presented using optimal control tools with state constraints, where the…
Policy gradient (PG) methods are a widely used reinforcement learning methodology in many applications such as video games, autonomous driving, and robotics. In spite of its empirical success, a rigorous understanding of the global…
Policy gradient algorithms are widely used in reinforcement learning and belong to the class of approximate dynamic programming methods. This paper studies two key policy gradient algorithms, the Natural Policy Gradient and the Gauss-Newton…
This paper studies a policy optimization problem arising from collaborative multi-agent reinforcement learning in a decentralized setting where agents communicate with their neighbors over an undirected graph to maximize the sum of their…
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…
We consider an improper reinforcement learning setting where a learner is given $M$ base controllers for an unknown Markov decision process, and wishes to combine them optimally to produce a potentially new controller that can outperform…
Direct policy search serves as one of the workhorses in modern reinforcement learning (RL), and its applications in continuous control tasks have recently attracted increasing attention. In this work, we investigate the convergence theory…
In safety-critical applications, reinforcement learning (RL) needs to consider safety constraints. However, theoretical understandings of constrained RL for continuous control are largely absent. As a case study, this paper presents a…
In this paper, we consider the $H_{\infty}$ optimal control problem for a Markovian jump linear system (MJLS) over a lossy communication network. It is assumed that the controller communicates with each actuator through a different…
Many engineering problems have multiple objectives, and the overall aim is to optimize a non-linear function of these objectives. In this paper, we formulate the problem of maximizing a non-linear concave function of multiple long-term…
Policy gradient (PG) methods are popular and efficient for large-scale reinforcement learning due to their relative stability and incremental nature. In recent years, the empirical success of PG methods has led to the development of a…