Related papers: Comparing discounted and average-cost Markov Decis…
Solving partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) is highly intractable in general, at least in part because the optimal policy may be infinitely large. In this paper, we explore the problem of finding the optimal policy from…
In this paper, we propose feedback designs for manipulating a quantum state to a target state by performing sequential measurements. In light of Belavkin's quantum feedback control theory, for a given set of (projective or non-projective)…
In this paper, we consider a class of continuous-time, continuous-space stochastic optimal control problems. Building upon recent advances in Markov chain approximation methods and sampling-based algorithms for deterministic path planning,…
We consider a finite number of $N$ statistically equal agents, each moving on a finite set of states according to a continuous-time Markov Decision Process (MDP). Transition intensities of the agents and generated rewards depend not only on…
We develop a stochastic approximation-type algorithm to solve finite state/action, infinite-horizon, risk-aware Markov decision processes. Our algorithm has two loops. The inner loop computes the risk by solving a stochastic saddle-point…
We study offline reinforcement learning problems with a long-run average reward objective. The state-action pairs generated by any fixed behavioral policy thus follow a Markov chain, and the {\em empirical} state-action-next-state…
We consider sequences-indexed by time (discrete stages)-of families of multistage stochastic optimization problems. At each time, the optimization problems in a family are parameterized by some quantities (initial states, constraint…
The topics treated in this thesis are inherently two-fold. The first part considers the problem of a market maker optimally setting bid/ask quotes over a finite time horizon, to maximize her expected utility. The intensities of the orders…
In this paper, we present an online reinforcement learning algorithm for constrained Markov decision processes with a safety constraint. Despite the necessary attention of the scientific community, considering stochastic stopping time, the…
A popular approach to solving large probabilistic systems relies on aggregating states based on a measure of similarity. Many approaches in the literature are heuristic. A number of recent methods rely instead on metrics based on the notion…
Given a policy of a Markov Decision Process, we define a SafeZone as a subset of states, such that most of the policy's trajectories are confined to this subset. The quality of a SafeZone is parameterized by the number of states and the…
Starting from the Avellaneda-Stoikov framework, we consider a market maker who wants to optimally set bid/ask quotes over a finite time horizon, to maximize her expected utility. The intensities of the orders she receives depend not only on…
Controllable Markov chains describe the dynamics of sequential decision making tasks and are the central component in optimal control and reinforcement learning. In this work, we give the general form of an optimal policy for learning…
The paper provides a new approach to the determination of a single state value for stochastic output feedback problems using paradigms from Model Predictive Control, particularly the distinction between open-loop and closed-loop control and…
We investigate the problem of best-policy identification in discounted Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) when the learner has access to a generative model. The objective is to devise a learning algorithm returning the best policy as early as…
We present a method for a certain class of Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) that can relate the optimal policy back to one or more reward sources in the environment. For a given initial state, without fully computing the value function,…
Markov reward processes (MRPs) are used to model stochastic phenomena arising in operations research, control engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence, as well as communication and transportation networks. In many of these cases,…
For a countable-state Markov decision process we introduce an embedding which produces a finite-state Markov decision process. The finite-state embedded process has the same optimal cost, and moreover, it has the same dynamics as the…
The problem of real-time remote tracking and reconstruction of a two-state Markov process is considered here. A transmitter sends samples from an observed information source to a remote monitor over an unreliable wireless channel. The…
In this paper, we consider solving discounted Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) under the constraint that the resulting policy is stabilizing. In practice MDPs are solved based on some form of policy approximation. We will leverage recent…