Scalable Policy Optimization for Networked Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Continuous State-Action Spaces
cs.MA, cs.LG
Submitted: 2026-07-20
Updated: 2026-09-17
Comments: v2
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: Learning local policies for continuous networked systems requires accounting for the effects of decisions beyond each agent's observation neighborhood.
Terminology
Abstract
Learning local policies for continuous networked systems requires accounting for the effects of decisions beyond each agent's observation neighborhood. Spatial decay limits these effects, but a finite critic must also control representation and estimation errors throughout policy optimization. We analyze the Continuous Distributed Coupled Policy Gradient (CDCPG) algorithm using local random Fourier features and least-squares temporal-difference critics. For features that retain the boundary inputs required by the local dynamics, we derive an action-value representation with separate spatial and finite-feature residuals. A global integrated transition-approximation bound and a projected Bellman argument control population prediction error without an inverse-conditioning multiplier. We then quantify the dependence of critic estimation on feature excitation and dimension, and construct simultaneous lower confidence bounds for temporal-difference conditioning along the executed iterates. Combining critic error with localized reward aggregation bounds the expected squared projected-gradient mapping by an optimization term and an explicit residual separating spatial approximation, finite features, and omitted distant rewards. For fixed neighborhoods and feature dimension, the shared-oracle sample count is inverse-squared in the excess squared-stationarity accuracy, up to logarithmic factors. The guarantee assumes known local dynamics and rewards, independent discounted-occupancy samples, and stated excitation, decay, and smoothness conditions, and is conditional on favorable feature draws. Numerical studies illustrate related implementations on a linear-coupled-quadratic benchmark.
Sources
- Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning for Networked System Control
- Scalable spectral representations for multi-agent reinforcement learning in network MDPs
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