Conformal Symplectic Optimization for Stable Reinforcement Learning

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Lyu, Yao, Zhang, Xiangteng, Li, Shengbo Eben, Duan, Jingliang, Tao, Letian, Xu, Qing, He, Lei, Li, Keqiang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Lyu, Yao
Zhang, Xiangteng
Li, Shengbo Eben
Duan, Jingliang
Tao, Letian
Xu, Qing
He, Lei
Li, Keqiang
author_facet Lyu, Yao
Zhang, Xiangteng
Li, Shengbo Eben
Duan, Jingliang
Tao, Letian
Xu, Qing
He, Lei
Li, Keqiang
contents Training deep reinforcement learning (RL) agents necessitates overcoming the highly unstable nonconvex stochastic optimization inherent in the trial-and-error mechanism. To tackle this challenge, we propose a physics-inspired optimization algorithm called relativistic adaptive gradient descent (RAD), which enhances long-term training stability. By conceptualizing neural network (NN) training as the evolution of a conformal Hamiltonian system, we present a universal framework for transferring long-term stability from conformal symplectic integrators to iterative NN updating rules, where the choice of kinetic energy governs the dynamical properties of resulting optimization algorithms. By utilizing relativistic kinetic energy, RAD incorporates principles from special relativity and limits parameter updates below a finite speed, effectively mitigating abnormal gradient influences. Additionally, RAD models NN optimization as the evolution of a multi-particle system where each trainable parameter acts as an independent particle with an individual adaptive learning rate. We prove RAD's sublinear convergence under general nonconvex settings, where smaller gradient variance and larger batch sizes contribute to tighter convergence. Notably, RAD degrades to the well-known adaptive moment estimation (ADAM) algorithm when its speed coefficient is chosen as one and symplectic factor as a small positive value. Experimental results show RAD outperforming nine baseline optimizers with five RL algorithms across twelve environments, including standard benchmarks and challenging scenarios. Notably, RAD achieves up to a 155.1% performance improvement over ADAM in Atari games, showcasing its efficacy in stabilizing and accelerating RL training.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_02291
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Conformal Symplectic Optimization for Stable Reinforcement Learning
Lyu, Yao
Zhang, Xiangteng
Li, Shengbo Eben
Duan, Jingliang
Tao, Letian
Xu, Qing
He, Lei
Li, Keqiang
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Training deep reinforcement learning (RL) agents necessitates overcoming the highly unstable nonconvex stochastic optimization inherent in the trial-and-error mechanism. To tackle this challenge, we propose a physics-inspired optimization algorithm called relativistic adaptive gradient descent (RAD), which enhances long-term training stability. By conceptualizing neural network (NN) training as the evolution of a conformal Hamiltonian system, we present a universal framework for transferring long-term stability from conformal symplectic integrators to iterative NN updating rules, where the choice of kinetic energy governs the dynamical properties of resulting optimization algorithms. By utilizing relativistic kinetic energy, RAD incorporates principles from special relativity and limits parameter updates below a finite speed, effectively mitigating abnormal gradient influences. Additionally, RAD models NN optimization as the evolution of a multi-particle system where each trainable parameter acts as an independent particle with an individual adaptive learning rate. We prove RAD's sublinear convergence under general nonconvex settings, where smaller gradient variance and larger batch sizes contribute to tighter convergence. Notably, RAD degrades to the well-known adaptive moment estimation (ADAM) algorithm when its speed coefficient is chosen as one and symplectic factor as a small positive value. Experimental results show RAD outperforming nine baseline optimizers with five RL algorithms across twelve environments, including standard benchmarks and challenging scenarios. Notably, RAD achieves up to a 155.1% performance improvement over ADAM in Atari games, showcasing its efficacy in stabilizing and accelerating RL training.
title Conformal Symplectic Optimization for Stable Reinforcement Learning
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.02291