An Asymptotic Law of the Iterated Logarithm for $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Ram, Ashwin, Ramdas, Aaditya
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Ram, Ashwin
Ramdas, Aaditya
author_facet Ram, Ashwin
Ramdas, Aaditya
contents The population $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ is a fundamental quantity that appears in lower bounds for (asymptotically) optimal regret of pure-exploration stochastic bandit algorithms, and optimal stopping time of sequential tests. Motivated by this, an empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ statistic is frequently used in the design of (asymptotically) optimal bandit algorithms and sequential tests. While nonasymptotic concentration bounds for the empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ have been developed, their optimality in terms of constants and rates is questionable, and their generality is limited (usually to bounded observations). The fundamental limits of nonasymptotic concentration are often described by the asymptotic fluctuations of the statistics. With that motivation, this paper presents a tight (upper and lower) law of the iterated logarithm for empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ applying to extremely general (unbounded) data.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_05259
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An Asymptotic Law of the Iterated Logarithm for $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$
Ram, Ashwin
Ramdas, Aaditya
Statistics Theory
Machine Learning
The population $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ is a fundamental quantity that appears in lower bounds for (asymptotically) optimal regret of pure-exploration stochastic bandit algorithms, and optimal stopping time of sequential tests. Motivated by this, an empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ statistic is frequently used in the design of (asymptotically) optimal bandit algorithms and sequential tests. While nonasymptotic concentration bounds for the empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ have been developed, their optimality in terms of constants and rates is questionable, and their generality is limited (usually to bounded observations). The fundamental limits of nonasymptotic concentration are often described by the asymptotic fluctuations of the statistics. With that motivation, this paper presents a tight (upper and lower) law of the iterated logarithm for empirical $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$ applying to extremely general (unbounded) data.
title An Asymptotic Law of the Iterated Logarithm for $\mathrm{KL}_{\inf}$
topic Statistics Theory
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05259