{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7204753136","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2608.27924","title":"What Makes Agent Memory Useful for Reliable Unanswerable Question Handling?","display_name":"What Makes Agent Memory Useful for Reliable Unanswerable Question Handling?","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-08-28","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7204753136","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2608.27924"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2608.27924","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27924","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.27924","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by-sa","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-sa","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},"volume":null,"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["arxiv","datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.27924","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5137594580","display_name":"Chuanyuan Tan","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3923682","display_name":"Soochow University","ror":"https://ror.org/05t8y2r12","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3923682"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Tan, Chuanyuan","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science and Technology , Soochow University"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science and Technology , Soochow University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3923682"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5148815725","display_name":"Junjie Yu","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4403386725","display_name":"Suzhou City University","ror":"https://ror.org/025jsyk19","country_code":null,"type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4403386725"]}],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yu, Junjie","raw_affiliation_strings":["Shanghai Key Lab of Intelligent Information Processing","Suzhou Key Lab of Multi-modal Data Fusion and Intelligent Healthcare , Suzhou City University"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Shanghai Key Lab of Intelligent Information Processing","institution_ids":[]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Suzhou Key Lab of Multi-modal Data Fusion and Intelligent Healthcare , Suzhou City University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4403386725"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5148771536","display_name":"Yuxin Wang","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I24943067","display_name":"Fudan University","ror":"https://ror.org/013q1eq08","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Wang, Yuxin","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5124410166","display_name":"Yining Zheng","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I24943067","display_name":"Fudan University","ror":"https://ror.org/013q1eq08","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405279436","display_name":"Shanghai Innovation Institute","ror":"https://ror.org/01fatbw66","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405279436"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zheng, Yining","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University","Shanghai Innovation Institute"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Shanghai Innovation Institute","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405279436"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5121611134","display_name":"Xipeng Qiu","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I24943067","display_name":"Fudan University","ror":"https://ror.org/013q1eq08","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4405279436","display_name":"Shanghai Innovation Institute","ror":"https://ror.org/01fatbw66","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4405279436"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Qiu, Xipeng","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University","Shanghai Innovation Institute"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence , Fudan University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I24943067"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Shanghai Innovation Institute","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4405279436"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5134169149","display_name":"Wenliang Chen","orcid":null,"observed_orcids":[]},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I3923682","display_name":"Soochow University","ror":"https://ror.org/05t8y2r12","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I3923682"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Chen, Wenliang","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science and Technology , Soochow University"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science and Technology , Soochow University","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I3923682"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":4,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10906","display_name":"AI-based Problem Solving and Planning","score":0.44020000100135803,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10906","display_name":"AI-based Problem Solving and Planning","score":0.44020000100135803,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.2054000049829483,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10181","display_name":"Natural Language Processing Techniques","score":0.07660000026226044,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/agent-memory","display_name":"agent memory","score":0.921999990940094},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/llm-based-agents","display_name":"LLM agents","score":0.8240000009536743},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/agentic-retrieval-augmented-generation","display_name":"agentic retrieval-augmented generation","score":0.8309999704360962},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/memory-transfer","display_name":"memory transfer","score":0.39899998903274536},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/distribution-shift","display_name":"distribution shift","score":0.9039999842643738},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/trajectory-shaping","display_name":"trajectory shaping","score":0.9779999852180481},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/procedural-memory","display_name":"procedural memory","score":0.9129999876022339},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/behavior-guidance","display_name":"behavior guidance","score":0.45399999618530273}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7409999966621399},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C206588197","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q846574","display_name":"Reuse","level":2,"score":0.6025000214576721},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C153701036","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q659974","display_name":"Trustworthiness","level":2,"score":0.5080999732017517},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.4163999855518341},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12186640","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6815743","display_name":"Memory model","level":3,"score":0.3495999872684479},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C176649486","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2308807","display_name":"Memory management","level":3,"score":0.3492000102996826},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C42058472","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q810214","display_name":"Base (topology)","level":2,"score":0.3084999918937683},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C88576662","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18646","display_name":"Episodic memory","level":3,"score":0.29679998755455017},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C107457646","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207434","display_name":"Human\u2013computer interaction","level":1,"score":0.2800000011920929},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C125411270","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18653","display_name":"Encoding (memory)","level":2,"score":0.2784999907016754},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.2782000005245209},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C180747234","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23373","display_name":"Cognitive psychology","level":1,"score":0.2777999937534332},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C188147891","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q147638","display_name":"Cognitive science","level":1,"score":0.2728999853134155},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C39528615","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1229610","display_name":"Distributed shared memory","level":5,"score":0.25589999556541443},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119907115","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6815725","display_name":"Memory errors","level":3,"score":0.2524999976158142}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2608.27924","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27924","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.27924","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by-sa","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-sa","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2608.27924","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2608.27924","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2608.27924","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2608.27924","doi":null,"is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.27924","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.27924","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"listed_in":[],"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by-sa","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-sa","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"sustainable_development_goals_aurora":[{"display_name":"Peace, justice, and strong institutions","id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16","score":0.7715685963630676}],"study_designs":[],"awards":[],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320321001","display_name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","ror":"https://ror.org/01h0zpd94"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320321851","display_name":"Fudan University","ror":"https://ror.org/013q1eq08"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320324720","display_name":"Soochow University","ror":"https://ror.org/05t8y2r12"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320332588","display_name":"Shanghai Key Laboratory of Intelligent Information Processing","ror":"https://ror.org/013q1eq08"}],"has_content":{"pdf":true,"grobid_xml":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7204753136.pdf","grobid_xml":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W7204753136.grobid-xml"},"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Reliable":[0],"handling":[1,25,38],"of":[2,33,183],"unanswerable":[3],"questions":[4],"(UAQs)":[5],"is":[6,14,87,157,163],"critical":[7],"for":[8,36,151],"trustworthy":[9],"LLM-based":[10],"agents.":[11],"Although":[12],"memory":[13,35,48,61,85,105,133,155,176],"widely":[15],"used":[16],"in":[17,22,66,97,109],"agent":[18,34],"systems,":[19],"its":[20],"role":[21],"reliable":[23,149,174],"UAQ":[24,37,64,118,152,175],"remains":[26],"unclear.":[27],"We":[28,58,114],"present":[29],"a":[30,40,101],"systematic":[31],"study":[32],"under":[39,80],"unified":[41],"agentic":[42],"RAG":[43],"framework,":[44],"evaluating":[45],"four":[46],"representative":[47],"methods":[49],"across":[50],"three":[51],"UAQ-related":[52],"datasets":[53],"and":[54,77,131,142,185],"two":[55],"base":[56,111],"models.":[57],"find":[59,116],"that":[60,95,117,132,173],"can":[62],"improve":[63],"performance":[65],"some":[67],"settings,":[68],"but":[69],"such":[70],"gains":[71,119],"are":[72,120],"selective":[73],"rather":[74],"than":[75,91,107,127],"universal":[76],"remain":[78],"fragile":[79],"dataset":[81],"shift.":[82],"Interestingly,":[83],"cross-model":[84],"reuse":[86,106],"often":[88,145],"more":[89,121,186],"feasible":[90],"cross-dataset":[92],"transfer,":[93],"suggesting":[94],"shifts":[96],"answerability":[98],"patterns":[99],"pose":[100],"greater":[102],"challenge":[103],"to":[104],"changes":[108],"the":[110,147],"model":[112],"itself.":[113],"further":[115],"strongly":[122,136],"preserved":[123],"through":[124,128],"decision":[125],"guidance":[126,162],"trajectory":[129],"shaping,":[130],"effectiveness":[134],"depends":[135,177],"on":[137,179,187],"representation.":[138],"In":[139],"particular,":[140],"procedural":[141,161],"rule-based":[143],"memories":[144],"provide":[146],"most":[148,158],"support":[150],"handling,":[153],"while":[154],"composition":[156],"effective":[159],"when":[160],"combined":[164],"with":[165],"complementary":[166],"behavioral":[167,190],"signals.":[168],"Overall,":[169],"our":[170],"findings":[171],"suggest":[172],"less":[178],"storing":[180],"larger":[181],"amounts":[182],"experience":[184],"preserving":[188],"transferable":[189],"guidance.":[191]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-10-06T10:28:23.643775","created_date":"2026-09-01T00:00:00"}