Zero Reinforcement Learning Towards General Domains
On the map: LLM reasoning → Reinforcement learning for reasoning
Abstract (arXiv)
Zero Reinforcement Learning (Zero-RL) has proven to be an effective approach for enhancing the reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs) by directly applying reinforcement learning with verifiable rewards on pretrained models, without the need for a supervised fine-tuning phase. However, current research on zero-RL primarily focuses on domains with easily verifiable reward signals, such as mathematics, programming, and other reasoning tasks. The challenge of eliciting reasoning abilities in more diverse scenarios, where verification is not straightforward, remains underexplored. To address this gap, we propose a novel zero-RL paradigm designed to improve a model's reasoning ability across both verifiable and non-verifiable domains. By combining verifiable rewards with a generative reward model, we conduct multi-task zero-RL training across both domains, facilitating the transfer of reasoning capabilities between them. Furthermore, to mitigate reward hacking in the generative reward model, we design a smooth length penalty that encourages the generation of more comprehensive thinking tokens in general domains. Experimental results on Qwen3-8B-Base and Qwen3-14B-Base demonstrate that our approach achieves superior reasoning performance, not only on tasks requiring extensive reasoning but also on more general tasks.
Key facts. Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Reinforcement learning for reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 26 of its 33 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 29 Oct 2025.
Builds on
26 of 33 references.
Closest ancestors · 11
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Language Models that Think, Chat Better24 Sep
- 2025OctoThinker: Mid-training Incentivizes Reinforcement Learning Scaling25 Jun
- 2025Revisiting Reinforcement Learning for LLM Reasoning from A Cross-Domain Perspective17 Jun
- 2025General-Reasoner: Advancing LLM Reasoning Across All Domains20 May
- 2025Nemotron-CrossThink: Scaling Self-Learning beyond Math Reasoning15 Apr
- 2025Understanding R1-Zero-Like Training: A Critical Perspective26 Mar
- 2025SimpleRL-Zoo: Investigating and Taming Zero Reinforcement Learning for Open Base Models in the Wild24 Mar
- 2025DAPO: An Open-Source LLM Reinforcement Learning System at Scale18 Mar
- 2025DeepSeek-R1: Incentivizing Reasoning Capability in LLMs via Reinforcement Learning22 Jan
- 2023Let's Verify Step by Step31 May
- 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms20 Jul
Other references · 15
- 2024DeepSeekMath: Pushing the Limits of Mathematical Reasoning in Open Language Modelscited by 8,851
- 2025Qwen3 Technical Reportcited by 8,195
- 2023GPQA: A Graduate-Level Google-Proof Q&A Benchmarkcited by 2,748
- 2022Challenging BIG-Bench Tasks and Whether Chain-of-Thought Can Solve Themcited by 1,767
- 2024MMLU-Pro: A More Robust and Challenging Multi-Task Language Understanding Benchmarkcited by 1,758
- 2024OlympiadBench: A Challenging Benchmark for Promoting AGI with Olympiad-Level Bilingual Multimodal Scientific Problemscited by 1,099
- 2024From Crowdsourced Data to High-Quality Benchmarks: Arena-Hard and BenchBuilder Pipelinecited by 484
- 2024WildBench: Benchmarking LLMs with Challenging Tasks from Real Users in the Wildcited by 211
- 2025Skywork Open Reasoner 1 Technical Reportcited by 161
- 2025BIG-Bench Extra Hardcited by 123
- 2025Does Math Reasoning Improve General LLM Capabilities? Understanding Transferability of LLM Reasoningcited by 101
- 2025WritingBench: A Comprehensive Benchmark for Generative Writingcited by 95
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2026: 4.
4 papers.
- 2026Learning to Self-Verify Makes Language Models Better Reasonerscited by 18
- 2026Advancing General-Purpose Reasoning Models with Modular Gradient Surgerycited by 9
- 2026Generate, Filter, Control, Replay: A Comprehensive Survey of Rollout Strategies for LLM Reinforcement Learningcited by 8
- 2026CARE-RL: Capability-Aware Reinforcement Learning for Mitigating Cross-Domain Conflictscited by 0
- 2026CARE-RL: Capability-Aware Reinforcement Learning for Mitigating Cross-Domain Conflicts30 May 2026
- 2026Generate, Filter, Control, Replay: A Comprehensive Survey of Rollout Strategies for LLM Reinforcement Learning8 Apr 2026
- 2026Learning to Self-Verify Makes Language Models Better Reasoners7 Feb 2026
- 2026Advancing General-Purpose Reasoning Models with Modular Gradient Surgery2 Feb 2026
Similar, not cited
Close in wording, no citation either way
- 2025What Can You Do When You Have Zero Rewards During RL?
- 2025Why Distillation can Outperform Zero-RL: The Role of Flexible Reasoning
- 2025Absolute Zero: Reinforced Self-play Reasoning with Zero Data
- 2025Crossing the Reward Bridge: Expanding RL with Verifiable Rewards Across Diverse Domains
- 2025The Surprising Effectiveness of Negative Reinforcement in LLM Reasoning
- 2026To Mix or To Merge: Toward Multi-Domain Reinforcement Learning for Large Language Models
- 2026DARL: Encouraging Diverse Answers for General Reasoning without Verifiers
- 2025Extending RLVR to Open-Ended Tasks via Verifiable Multiple-Choice Reformulation