Gaussian Approximation for Two-Timescale Linear Stochastic Approximation

In this paper, we establish non-asymptotic bounds for accuracy of normal approximation for linear two-timescale stochastic approximation (TTSA) algorithms driven by martingale difference or Markov noise. Focusing on both the last iterate and Polyak–Ruppert averaging regimes, we derive bounds for normal approximation in terms of the convex distance between probability distributions. Our analysis reveals a non-trivial interaction between the fast and slow timescales: the normal approximation rate for the last iterate improves as the timescale separation increases, while it decreases in the Polyak–Ruppert averaged setting. We also provide the high-order moment bounds for the error of linear TTSA algorithm, which may be of independent interest. Finally, we demonstrate that our theoretical results are directly applicable to reinforcement learning algorithms such as GTD and TDC.

Authors

• Bogdan Butyrin Higher School of Economics
• Artemy Rubtsov Higher School of Economics
• Alexey Naumov
• Vladimir V. Ulyanov Higher School of Economics Lomonosov Moscow State University
• Sergey Samsonov

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