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Related papers: Solving Zero-Sum Convex Markov Games

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In this paper, we present a novel consensus-based zeroth-order algorithm tailored for non-convex multiplayer games. The proposed method leverages a metaheuristic approach using concepts from swarm intelligence to reliably identify global…

Dynamical Systems · Mathematics 2024-07-30 Enis Chenchene , Hui Huang , Jinniao Qiu

We consider two classes of constrained finite state-action stochastic games. First, we consider a two player nonzero sum single controller constrained stochastic game with both average and discounted cost criterion. We consider the same…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2012-06-11 Vikas Vikram Singh , N. Hemachandra

We study Nash equilibrium learning in partially observable Markov games (POMGs), a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework in which agents cannot fully observe the underlying state. Prior work in this setting relies on centralization…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2026-05-08 Philip Jordan , Maryam Kamgarpour

We introduce and study a two-player zero-sum game between a probabilist and Nature defined by a convex function $f$, a finite collection $\mathcal{B}$ of Markov generators (or its convex hull), and a target distribution $\pi$. The…

Probability · Mathematics 2025-09-11 Michael C. H. Choi , Geoffrey Wolfer

We study generalized Nash equilibrium (GNE) problems in games with quadratic costs and individual linear equality constraints. Departing from approaches that require strong monotonicity and/or shared constraints, we reformulate the KKT…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-12-23 Tatiana Tatarenko , Lucas Wey Hacker

Decoding how rational agents should behave in shared systems remains a critical challenge within theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence and economics studies. Central to this challenge is the task of computing the solution…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-01-07 Dongge Wang , Xiang Yan , Zehao Dou , Wenhan Huang , Yaodong Yang , Xiaotie Deng

Recent applications that arise in machine learning have surged significant interest in solving min-max saddle point games. This problem has been extensively studied in the convex-concave regime for which a global equilibrium solution can be…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2019-11-01 Maher Nouiehed , Maziar Sanjabi , Tianjian Huang , Jason D. Lee , Meisam Razaviyayn

Markov games (MGs) provide a mathematical foundation for multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), enabling self-interested agents to learn their optimal policies while interacting with others in a shared environment. However, due to the…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2025-11-25 Huiwen Yan , Mushuang Liu

Markov Potential Games (MPGs) form an important sub-class of Markov games, which are a common framework to model multi-agent reinforcement learning problems. In particular, MPGs include as a special case the identical-interest setting where…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-08-16 Pragnya Alatur , Anas Barakat , Niao He

We study the sequential decision making problem of maximizing the expected total reward while satisfying a constraint on the expected total utility. We employ the natural policy gradient method to solve the discounted infinite-horizon…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-10-16 Dongsheng Ding , Kaiqing Zhang , Jiali Duan , Tamer Başar , Mihailo R. Jovanović

Zero-sum games arise in a wide variety of problems, including robust optimization and adversarial learning. However, algorithms deployed for finding a local Nash equilibrium in these games often converge to non-Nash stationary points. This…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-09-30 Kushagra Gupta , Xinjie Liu , Ross Allen , Ufuk Topcu , David Fridovich-Keil

We study the existence and computation of Nash equilibria in concave games where the players' admissible strategies are subject to shared coupling constraints. Under playerwise concavity of constraints, we prove existence of Nash…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2026-02-09 Philip Jordan , Maryam Kamgarpour

Noncooperative game-theoretic tools have been increasingly used to study many important resource allocation problems in communications, networking, smart grids, and portfolio optimization. In this paper, we consider a general class of…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2016-11-17 Gesualdo Scutari , Francisco Facchinei , Jong-Shi Pang , Daniel P. Palomar

Finding Nash equilibria in two-player zero-sum continuous games is a central problem in machine learning, e.g. for training both GANs and robust models. The existence of pure Nash equilibria requires strong conditions which are not…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2021-05-07 Carles Domingo-Enrich , Samy Jelassi , Arthur Mensch , Grant Rotskoff , Joan Bruna

Convergence to a saddle point for convex-concave functions has been studied for decades, while recent years has seen a surge of interest in non-convex (zero-sum) smooth games, motivated by their recent wide applications. It remains an…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-02-04 Guojun Zhang , Pascal Poupart , Yaoliang Yu

Wide machine learning tasks can be formulated as non-convex multi-player games, where Nash equilibrium (NE) is an acceptable solution to all players, since no one can benefit from changing its strategy unilaterally. Attributed to the…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2023-01-20 Guanpu Chen , Gehui Xu , Fengxiang He , Yiguang Hong , Leszek Rutkowski , Dacheng Tao

In this paper we present optimization problems with biconvex objective function and linear constraints such that the set of global minima of the optimization problems is the same as the set of Nash equilibria of a n-player general-sum…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2015-04-28 Vinayaka Yaji , Shalabh Bhatnagar

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…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-06-30 Kaiqing Zhang , Alec Koppel , Hao Zhu , Tamer Başar

We propose a new framework of Markov $\alpha$-potential games to study Markov games. We show that any Markov game with finite-state and finite-action is a Markov $\alpha$-potential game, and establish the existence of an associated…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-04-02 Xin Guo , Xinyu Li , Chinmay Maheshwari , Shankar Sastry , Manxi Wu

We address payoff-based decentralized learning in infinite-horizon zero-sum Markov games. In this setting, each player makes decisions based solely on received rewards, without observing the opponent's strategy or actions nor sharing…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2025-02-11 Reda Ouhamma , Maryam Kamgarpour