Solving Ergodic Markov Decision Processes and Perfect Information Zero-sum Stochastic Games by Variance Reduced Deflated Value Iteration

Marianne Akian; Stéphane Gaubert; Zheng Qu; Omar Saadi

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arXiv · 1909.06185

Solving Ergodic Markov Decision Processes and Perfect Information Zero-sum Stochastic Games by Variance Reduced Deflated Value Iteration

Marianne Akian·Stéphane Gaubert·Zheng Qu·Omar Saadi

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Abstract

Recently, Sidford, Wang, Wu and Ye (2018) developed an algorithm combining variance reduction techniques with value iteration to solve discounted Markov decision processes. This algorithm has a sublinear complexity when the discount factor is fixed. Here, we extend this approach to mean-payoff problems, including both Markov decision processes and perfect information zero-sum stochastic games. We obtain sublinear complexity bounds, assuming there is a distinguished state which is accessible from all initial states and for all policies. Our method is based on a reduction from the mean payoff problem to the discounted problem by a Doob h-transform, combined with a deflation technique. The complexity analysis of this algorithm uses at the same time the techniques developed by Sidford et al. in the discounted case and non-linear spectral theory techniques (Collatz-Wielandt characterization of the eigenvalue).

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Marianne Akian, Stéphane Gaubert, Zheng Qu, Omar Saadi. 2019-09-13. Solving Ergodic Markov Decision Processes and Perfect Information Zero-sum Stochastic Games by Variance Reduced Deflated Value Iteration. https://arxiv.org/abs/1909.06185

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