arXiv Statistics ML

A Commutator Framework for Selective Spectral Alignment in Deep Neural Networks

The paper introduces a finite‑width geometric framework that explains how learned feature geometries are organized, transported, and selectively aligned in deep neural networks. It quantifies incompatibilities among weight‑generated covariance, gates, and backward sensitivities using three families of commutators, and provides exact layerwise identities that decompose these commutators into sources such as downstream transport, adjacent‑layer imbalance, and nonlinear gate‑covariance interactions. The study demonstrates that spectral alignment is a layer‑ and scale‑dependent compatibility phenomenon governed by transport, interaction, cancellation, and possible damping, rather than a universal consequence of training.

arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 22

Progressive Permutation Alignment with Temperature-Controlled Spectral Sharpening

The paper introduces a progressive permutation alignment technique for implicit neural representations, using layer-wise correlation estimation, Hungarian matching, and temperature-controlled spectral annealing to gradually sharpen the alignment toward a permutation matrix. This deterministic, lightweight method avoids costly gradient optimization and is followed by a final refinement stage that optimizes layer-by-layer weight matching. Experiments on MLPs, CNNs, and NeRFs demonstrate reliable neuron correspondence recovery and reduced loss barriers during weight interpolation.

By Yuta Horioka, Naoya Chiba, Yuki Uranishi
arXiv AI
Sep 10

Equivariance Breaks the Learning Rate

arXiv:2609.08381v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Equivariant networks are commonly trained with Adam, yet recent work reports that matrix-structured optimizers such as Muon can perform better on the...

By Andrei Manolache, Mathias Niepert
arXiv AI
Aug 6

The Hamilton-Jacobi Theory of Deep Learning

arXiv:2605. 28983v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: In this paper, training a neural network is identified, exactly, as a search through Hamilton--Jacobi initial-value problems: each gradient step selects the initial data of a viscous Hamilton--Jacobi equation whose Hopf--Cole propagator best fits the observations; at inference, the input is the spatial point at which that solution is evaluated and the initial condition is already encoded in the weights.

By Jose Marie Antonio Mi\~noza, Erika Fille T. Legara, Christopher P. Monterola
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 4

Hard-ReLU Gradient Descent Selects an Event-Free Sensitivity Limit

The paper investigates how exact automatic differentiation behaves under hard‑ReLU gradient descent. It shows that while gradient‑descent states converge to the piecewise‑smooth gradient flow, the derivative of the training map does not, due to missing event‑time sensitivities captured by saltation matrices. The study demonstrates that for convex objectives, activation events can create large sensitivity gaps, and provides empirical evidence that event‑aware corrections are necessary for accurate flow derivatives.

By Xiaoyang Li, Runni Zhou
arXiv Machine Learning
4d ago

A Unified Matrix-Spectral Framework for Stability and Interpretability in Deep Learning

The paper introduces a unified matrix‑spectral framework that treats deep neural networks as data‑dependent products of linear operators, enabling the analysis of stability and interpretability through spectral quantities. It defines a Global Matrix Stability Index that aggregates spectral information from Jacobians, parameter gradients, Neural Tangent Kernel operators, and loss Hessians into a single stability scale, and shows that spectral entropy provides a more realistic measure of sensitivity than worst‑case bounds. Experiments on MNIST, CIFAR‑10, and CIFAR‑100 demonstrate that modest spectral regularization can significantly improve attribution stability without large changes to global spectral summaries.

By Ronald Katende