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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Adamczyk, Jacob
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09081
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author Adamczyk, Jacob
author_facet Adamczyk, Jacob
contents In reinforcement learning, the value function is typically trained to solve the Bellman equation, which connects the current value to future values. This temporal dependency hints that the value function may contain implicit information about the environment's transition dynamics. By rearranging the Bellman equation, we show that a converged value function encodes a model of the underlying dynamics of the environment. We build on this insight to propose a simple method for inferring dynamics models directly from the value function, potentially mitigating the need for explicit model learning. Furthermore, we explore the challenges of next-state identifiability, discussing conditions under which the inferred dynamics model is well-defined. Our work provides a theoretical foundation for leveraging value functions in dynamics modeling and opens a new avenue for bridging model-free and model-based reinforcement learning.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_09081
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inferring Transition Dynamics from Value Functions
Adamczyk, Jacob
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
In reinforcement learning, the value function is typically trained to solve the Bellman equation, which connects the current value to future values. This temporal dependency hints that the value function may contain implicit information about the environment's transition dynamics. By rearranging the Bellman equation, we show that a converged value function encodes a model of the underlying dynamics of the environment. We build on this insight to propose a simple method for inferring dynamics models directly from the value function, potentially mitigating the need for explicit model learning. Furthermore, we explore the challenges of next-state identifiability, discussing conditions under which the inferred dynamics model is well-defined. Our work provides a theoretical foundation for leveraging value functions in dynamics modeling and opens a new avenue for bridging model-free and model-based reinforcement learning.
title Inferring Transition Dynamics from Value Functions
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.09081