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Regularized empirical risk minimization problem with linear predictor appears frequently in machine learning. In this paper, we propose a new stochastic primal-dual method to solve this class of problems. Different from existing methods,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-11-06 Conghui Tan , Tong Zhang , Shiqian Ma , Ji Liu

Risk-aware control, though with promise to tackle unexpected events, requires a known exact dynamical model. In this work, we propose a model-free framework to learn a risk-aware controller with a focus on the linear system. We formulate it…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-06-01 Feiran Zhao , Keyou You

We propose a method of approximating multivariate Gaussian probabilities using dynamic programming. We show that solving the optimization problem associated with a class of discrete-time finite horizon Markov decision processes with…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2018-02-08 Morgan Jones , Matthew M. Peet

The goal of this paper is to investigate distributed temporal difference (TD) learning for a networked multi-agent Markov decision process. The proposed approach is based on distributed optimization algorithms, which can be interpreted as…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-05-14 Han-Dong Lim , Donghwan Lee

In this paper, we consider a Markov decision process (MDP), where the ego agent has a nominal objective to pursue while needs to hide its state from detection by an adversary. After formulating the problem, we first propose a value…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2019-08-22 Nan Li , Ilya Kolmanovsky , Anouck Girard

We introduce a mesh-type approach for tackling discrete-time, finite-horizon Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) characterized by state and action spaces that are general, encompassing both finite and infinite (yet suitably regular) subsets of…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2024-07-02 Denis Belomestny , John Schoenmakers

We are interested in risk constraints for infinite horizon discrete time Markov decision processes (MDPs). Starting with average reward MDPs, we show that increasing concave stochastic dominance constraints on the empirical distribution of…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2012-06-21 William B. Haskell , Rahul Jain

In Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) with intermittent state information, decision-making becomes challenging due to periods of missing observations. Linear programming (LP) methods can play a crucial role in solving MDPs, in particular,…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-09-09 Konstantin Avrachenkov , Madhu Dhiman , Veeraruna Kavitha

We derive a novel asymptotic problem-dependent lower-bound for regret minimization in finite-horizon tabular Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). While, similar to prior work (e.g., for ergodic MDPs), the lower-bound is the solution to an…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-06-25 Andrea Tirinzoni , Matteo Pirotta , Alessandro Lazaric

Constrained decision-making is essential for designing safe policies in real-world control systems, yet simulated environments often fail to capture real-world adversities. We consider the problem of learning a policy that will maximize the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-02-10 Sourav Ganguly , Kishan Panaganti , Arnob Ghosh , Adam Wierman

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…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2019-06-21 Francis Bach

We present a model-free reinforcement learning algorithm to find an optimal policy for a finite-horizon Markov decision process while guaranteeing a desired lower bound on the probability of satisfying a signal temporal logic (STL)…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-09-29 Krishna C. Kalagarla , Rahul Jain , Pierluigi Nuzzo

We develop several new algorithms for learning Markov Decision Processes in an infinite-horizon average-reward setting with linear function approximation. Using the optimism principle and assuming that the MDP has a linear structure, we…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-04-27 Chen-Yu Wei , Mehdi Jafarnia-Jahromi , Haipeng Luo , Rahul Jain

We propose a primal--dual technique that applies to infinite dimensional equality constrained problems, in particular those arising from optimal control. As an application of our general framework, we solve a control-constrained double…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-11-14 Regina S. Burachik , C. Yalçın Kaya , Xuemei Liu

We introduce a primal-dual stochastic gradient oracle method for distributed convex optimization problems over networks. We show that the proposed method is optimal in terms of communication steps. Additionally, we propose a new analysis…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-11-28 Darina Dvinskikh , Eduard Gorbunov , Alexander Gasnikov , Pavel Dvurechensky , Cesar A. Uribe

We propose \textit{DeepMartingale}, a deep-learning framework for the dual formulation of discrete-monitoring optimal stopping problems under continuous-time models. Leveraging a martingale representation, our method implements a…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-02-27 Junyan Ye , Hoi Ying Wong

We present a new, tractable method for solving and analyzing risk-aware control problems over finite and infinite, discounted time-horizons where the dynamics of the controlled process are described as a martingale problem. Supposing…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-06-23 Jukka Isohätälä , William B. Haskell

We present one of the first algorithms on model based reinforcement learning and trajectory optimization with free final time horizon. Grounded on the optimal control theory and Dynamic Programming, we derive a set of backward differential…

Systems and Control · Computer Science 2015-09-04 Wei Sun , Evangelos Theodorou , Panagiotis Tsiotras

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…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-12-14 Jalaj Bhandari , Daniel Russo

In this paper, we propose a second-order continuous primal-dual dynamical system with time-dependent positive damping terms for a separable convex optimization problem with linear equality constraints. By the Lyapunov function approach, we…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-07-27 Xin He , Rong Hu , Ya-Ping Fang