arXiv Machine Learning

Shallow neural network approximation in mixed Sobolev spaces

arXiv:2609. 05263v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: We investigate the best $L_2$ approximation of mixed Sobolev spaces by shallow neural networks with $n$ neurons and general activation functions.

arXiv Machine Learning
Jul 14

Approximation of Analytic Functions by ReLU Neural Networks with Adjustable Depth and Width

arXiv:2607. 10589v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: In contrast to most studies on neural network approximation theory that characterize results through a single parameter, such as the total number of network parameters, \cite{shen2020deep} pioneered the characterization of approximation rates as a joint function of the width parameter $N$ and the depth parameter $L$, thereby granting greater architectural flexibility.

By Yanming Lai, Defeng Sun, Yang Wang
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 24

Layer-wise Geometric Approximation Rates for Deep Networks

arXiv:2604. 20219v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Depth is widely viewed as a central contributor to the success of deep neural networks, whereas standard neural network approximation theory typically provides guarantees only for the final output and leaves the role of intermediate layers largely unclear.

By Shijun Zhang, Zuowei Shen, Yuesheng Xu
arXiv Machine Learning
Jun 25

Rational Neural Networks have Expressivity Advantages

arXiv:2602. 12390v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We study neural networks with trainable low-degree rational activation functions and show that they are more expressive and parameter-efficient than modern piecewise-linear and smooth activations such as ELU, LeakyReLU, LogSigmoid, PReLU, ReLU, SELU, CELU, Sigmoid, SiLU, Mish, Softplus, Tanh, Softmin, Softmax, and LogSoftmax.

By Maosen Tang, Alex Townsend
arXiv Machine Learning
Aug 28

High Probability Derivative Bounds for Random tanh Neural Networks on a Hypercube

The paper establishes high‑probability bounds on mixed input derivatives for wide random neural networks whose activation derivatives grow factorially, with a focus on anh networks initialized with Xavier weights. For scalar‑output anh networks with Gaussian weights, the authors prove that when the hidden width exceeds a depth‑dependent threshold, the derivative of any order satisfies a bound that is independent of depth for first‑order derivatives and grows at most polynomially with depth for higher‑order mixed derivatives. These results yield high‑probability estimates for the Euclidean Lipschitz constant and weighted Sobolev norms, linking the regularity of network realizations to quasi‑Monte Carlo integration and its potential impact on QMC‑based training.

By Josef Dick, Michael Feischl, Fabian Zehetgruber
Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jul 7

On Explicit Super-Expressive Approximation for Neural Networks

In this work, we investigate the fixed-architecture neural network approximation with explicit parameter bounds and elementary activations. While prior work demonstrated super-expressive approximation using fixed-size networks, they lack quantitative and non-asymptotic characterizations of parameter magnitude with respect to the approximation error.

Hugging Face Trending Papers
Jul 7

A Function-Space Dichotomy for Compositional Learning: Exponential Sub-Optimality of the Neural Tangent Kernel

A persistent empirical observation is that trained neural networks outperform their neural tangent kernel (NTK) limit on tasks with compositional structure, yet a quantitative account of $\textbf{when}$ and $\textbf{by how much}$ has been lacking. Working on the unit circle, we give such an account through a dichotomy between two complexity measures of the target: its $\textbf{Fourier complexity}$, which controls NTK kernel regression, and its $\textbf{architectural complexity}$, which controls learning over depth-$L$, width-$w$ ReLU networks with the variation norm of the weights bounded by $R$.