Geometry of the Loss Landscape in Overparameterized Neural Networks: Symmetries and Invariances
We study how permutation symmetries in overparameterized multi-layer neural networks generate `symmetry-induced' critical points. Assuming a network with $ L $ layers of minimal widths $ r_1^, \ldots, r_{L-1}^ $ reaches a zero-loss minimum at $ r_1^! \cdots r_{L-1}^! $ isolated points that are permutations of one another, we show that adding one extra neuron to each layer is sufficient to connect all these previously discrete minima into a single manifold. For a two-layer overparameterized network of width $ r^+ h =: m $ we explicitly describe the manifold of global minima: it consists of $ T(r^, m) $ affine subspaces of dimension at least $ h $ that are connected to one another. For a network of width $m$, we identify the number $G(r,m)$ of affine subspaces containing only symmetry-induced critical points that are related to the critical points of a smaller network of width $r<r^$. Via a combinatorial analysis, we derive closed-form formulas for $ T $ and $ G $ and show that the number of symmetry-induced critical subspaces dominates the number of affine subspaces forming the global minima manifold in the mildly overparameterized regime (small $ h $) and vice versa in the vastly overparameterized regime ($h \gg r^$). Our results provide new insights into the minimization of the non-convex loss function of overparameterized neural networks.
WOS:000768182705080
2105.12221v2
2021
29
Proceedings of Machine Learning Research; 139
139
9722
9732
REVIEWED
Event name | Event place | Event date |
Virtual | July 18-24, 2021 | |