Statistical Learning Theory for Control: A Finite Sample Perspective
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Abstract (arXiv)
This tutorial survey provides an overview of recent non-asymptotic advances in statistical learning theory as relevant to control and system identification. While there has been substantial progress across all areas of control, the theory is most well-developed when it comes to linear system identification and learning for the linear quadratic regulator, which are the focus of this manuscript. From a theoretical perspective, much of the labor underlying these advances has been in adapting tools from modern high-dimensional statistics and learning theory. While highly relevant to control theorists interested in integrating tools from machine learning, the foundational material has not always been easily accessible. To remedy this, we provide a self-contained presentation of the relevant material, outlining all the key ideas and the technical machinery that underpin recent results. We also present a number of open problems and future directions.
Key facts. Cited by 52 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 62 of its 135 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 12 Sep 2022.
Builds on
62 of 135 references.
References · 62
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- 2019Learning Linear-Quadratic Regulators Efficiently with only √T Regretcited by 67
- 2019Finite Sample Analysis of Stochastic System Identificationcited by 67
- 2017Finite Time Identification in Unstable Linear Systemscited by 66
- 2019Learning Linear Dynamical Systems with Semi-Parametric Least Squarescited by 58
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- 2014Learning without Concentrationcited by 50
- 2020Logarithmic Regret Bound in Partially Observable Linear Dynamical Systemscited by 46
- 2020Learning nonlinear dynamical systems from a single trajectorycited by 46
- 2020Policy Gradient Methods for the Noisy Linear Quadratic Regulator over a Finite Horizoncited by 43
- 2021Contraction Theory for Nonlinear Stability Analysis and Learning-based Control: A Tutorial Overviewcited by 42
- 2020Non-asymptotic and Accurate Learning of Nonlinear Dynamical Systemscited by 39
- 2020Non-asymptotic Identification of Linear Dynamical Systems Using Multiple Trajectoriescited by 38
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- 2019Exact minimax risk for linear least squares, and the lower tail of sample covariance matricescited by 34
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- 2020Logarithmic Regret for Learning Linear Quadratic Regulators Efficientlycited by 33
- 2022Learning with little mixingcited by 33
- 2018Safely Learning to Control the Constrained Linear Quadratic Regulatorcited by 31
- 2020Finite-time Identification of Stable Linear Systems: Optimality of the Least-Squares Estimatorcited by 26
- 2022Single Trajectory Nonparametric Learning of Nonlinear Dynamicscited by 26
- 2021Stabilizing Dynamical Systems via Policy Gradient Methodscited by 24
- 2022Learning from many trajectoriescited by 24
- 2020Online Learning of the Kalman Filter with Logarithmic Regretcited by 21
- 2022TaSIL: Taylor Series Imitation Learningcited by 21
- 2019Sample Complexity Lower Bounds for Linear System Identificationcited by 20
- 2019Learning Sparse Dynamical Systems from a Single Sample Trajectorycited by 20
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- 2021Minimal Expected Regret in Linear Quadratic Controlcited by 13
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Citing papers per year: 2022: 3; 2023: 16; 2024: 18; 2025: 9; 2026: 6.
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- 2025Concentration inequalities for semidefinite least squares based on data16 Sep 2025
- 2025High Effort, Low Gain: Fundamental Limits of Active Learning for Linear Dynamical Systems15 Sep 2025
- 2025Frequency Response Identification of Low-Order Systems: Finite-Sample Analysis23 Aug 2025
- 2025Boosting-Enabled Robust System Identification of Partially Observed LTI Systems Under Heavy-Tailed Noise25 Apr 2025
- 2025Subgradient Method for System Identification with Non-Smooth Objectives20 Mar 2025
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- 2025A finite-sample bound for identifying partially observed linear switched systems from a single trajectory17 Mar 2025
- 2025Heavy-Tailed Linear Bandits: Huber Regression with One-Pass Update1 Mar 2025
- 2025The Sample Complexity of Online Reinforcement Learning: A Multi-model Perspective27 Jan 2025
- 2024Outlier-Robust Linear System Identification Under Heavy-tailed Noise31 Dec 2024
- 2024Non-Asymptotic Bounds for Closed-Loop Identification of Sub-Exponentially Growing Nonlinear Stochastic Systems5 Dec 2024
- 2024Long-Context Linear System Identification8 Oct 2024
- 2024End-to-end guarantees for indirect data-driven control of bilinear systems with finite stochastic data26 Sep 2024
- 2024Sample Complexity Bounds for Linear System Identification from a Finite Set17 Sep 2024
- 2024Finite Sample Analysis of Distribution-Free Confidence Ellipsoids for Linear Regression13 Sep 2024
- 2024Exact Recovery Guarantees for Parameterized Nonlinear System Identification Problem under Sparse Disturbances or Semi-Oblivious Attacks30 Aug 2024
- 2024Causal Learning in Biomedical Applications: Krebs Cycle as a Benchmark21 Jun 2024
- 2024Single Trajectory Conformal Prediction3 Jun 2024
- 2024On the stability of gradient descent with second order dynamics for time-varying cost functions22 May 2024
- 2024A finite-sample generalization bound for stable LPV systems16 May 2024
- 2024Active Learning for Control-Oriented Identification of Nonlinear Systems13 Apr 2024
- 2024Rate-Optimal Non-Asymptotics for the Quadratic Prediction Error Method11 Apr 2024
- 2024Finite Sample Frequency Domain Identification1 Apr 2024
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- 2024From Self-Attention to Markov Models: Unveiling the Dynamics of Generative Transformers21 Feb 2024
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- 2024Model-Free Learning for the Linear Quadratic Regulator over Rate-Limited Channels2 Jan 2024
- 2023Nonasymptotic Regret Analysis of Adaptive Linear Quadratic Control with Model Misspecification29 Dec 2023
- 2023Estimation Sample Complexity of a Class of Nonlinear Continuous-time Systems8 Dec 2023
- 2023Controlgym: Large-Scale Control Environments for Benchmarking Reinforcement Learning Algorithms30 Nov 2023
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- 2023Exact Recovery for System Identification with More Corrupt Data than Clean Data17 May 2023
- 2023Learning and Concentration for High Dimensional Linear Gaussians: an Invariant Subspace Approach4 Apr 2023
- 2023Stability Bounds for Learning-Based Adaptive Control of Discrete-Time Multi-Dimensional Stochastic Linear Systems with Input Constraints2 Apr 2023
- 2023Oracle-Efficient Smoothed Online Learning for Piecewise Continuous Decision Making10 Feb 2023
- 2023Smoothed Online Learning for Prediction in Piecewise Affine Systems26 Jan 2023
- 2023A New Approach to Learning Linear Dynamical Systems23 Jan 2023
- 2023Suboptimality analysis of receding horizon quadratic control with unknown linear systems and its applications in learning-based control19 Jan 2023
- 2023Transformers as Algorithms: Generalization and Stability in In-context Learning17 Jan 2023
- 2022A note on the smallest eigenvalue of the empirical covariance of causal Gaussian processes19 Dec 2022
50 newest of 52 All 52 (JSON)
- 2023Transformers as Algorithms: Generalization and Stability in In-context Learningcited by 220
- 2024From Self-Attention to Markov Models: Unveiling the Dynamics of Generative Transformerscited by 34
- 2023A Tutorial on the Non-Asymptotic Theory of System Identificationcited by 26
- 2023A New Approach to Learning Linear Dynamical Systemscited by 23
- 2022FedSysID: A Federated Approach to Sample-Efficient System Identificationcited by 15
- 2024Sharp Rates in Dependent Learning Theory: Avoiding Sample Size Deflation for the Square Losscited by 10
- 2023Smoothed Online Learning for Prediction in Piecewise Affine Systemscited by 9
- 2024Active Learning for Control-Oriented Identification of Nonlinear Systemscited by 7
- 2022Towards a Theoretical Foundation of Policy Optimization for Learning Control Policiescited by 6
- 2023The noise level in linear regression with dependent datacited by 6
- 2023Learning the Uncertainty Sets for Control Dynamics via Set Membership: A Non-Asymptotic Analysiscited by 6
- 2023Nonasymptotic Regret Analysis of Adaptive Linear Quadratic Control with Model Misspecificationcited by 6
12 most cited of 52 All 52 (JSON)
- 2026Learning Linear Systems under Heavy-Tailed Noise: A Non-Asymptotic Analysis from A Single Trajectory30 Sep 2026
- 2026Learning to control switching nonlinear systems with Koopman operator regression13 Jul 2026
- 2026Optimizing Digital Therapeutic Interventions: Online Learning under Endogenous Adherence22 May 2026
- 2026Cost-Driven Representation Learning for Linear Quadratic Gaussian Control: Part II8 Mar 2026
- 2026Uniform error bounds for quantized dynamical models17 Feb 2026
- 2026Reinforcement Learning for Control with Probabilistic Stability Guarantee: A Finite-Sample Approach9 Feb 2026
- 2025Finite-sample guarantees for data-driven forward-backward operator methods22 Dec 2025
- 2025Concentration inequalities for semidefinite least squares based on data16 Sep 2025
- 2025High Effort, Low Gain: Fundamental Limits of Active Learning for Linear Dynamical Systems15 Sep 2025
- 2025Frequency Response Identification of Low-Order Systems: Finite-Sample Analysis23 Aug 2025
- 2025Boosting-Enabled Robust System Identification of Partially Observed LTI Systems Under Heavy-Tailed Noise25 Apr 2025
- 2025Subgradient Method for System Identification with Non-Smooth Objectives20 Mar 2025
12 newest of 52 All 52 (JSON)