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Ali Shehper

3 accepted papers

2026

Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning for Sparse-Reward Search in Commutative Algebra

ICML 2026poster

Applying machine learning techniques to solving long-standing mathematical conjectures can be particularly challenging due to their extreme reward sparsity. As an illustrative example, we consider Kalai's algebraic Hirsch conjecture and recast the construction of its counterexamples as a sparse-rewa…

Cited by 0SourceScholar
2026

The Two-Hump Problem: Bridging the Difficulty Gap in Mathematical Reinforcement Learning

ICML 2026poster

Mathematical search problems present a unique challenge for Reinforcement Learning (RL) due to vast search spaces and sparse rewards. In previous works, the Andrews-Curtis (AC) conjecture was established as an illustrative example of such problems. In this work, we identify a critical structural bar…

Cited by 0SourceScholar
2025

WHAT MAKES MATH PROBLEMS HARD FOR REINFORCEMENT LEARNING: A CASE STUDY

NeurIPS 2025poster

Using a long-standing conjecture from combinatorial group theory, we explore, from multiple perspectives, the challenges of finding rare instances carrying disproportionately high rewards. Based on lessons learned in the context defined by the Andrews--Curtis conjecture, we analyze how reinforcement…

Cited by 0SourcecodeScholar