arXiv:2505.13631cs.LGcs.AI2025-05NeurIPS被引 11

通过渐进约束优化,让网络在对称性与灵活性间自动平衡。

Learning (Approximately) Equivariant Networks via Constrained Optimization

  • 从非等变模型出发,逐步收紧对称性约束
  • 在多种任务中提升性能与对扰动的鲁棒性
  • 适合数据含噪声或部分对称性的场景

等变神经网络通过架构设计尊重数据中的对称性,从而提升泛化能力和样本效率。然而,真实世界数据常因噪声、结构差异或测量偏差而偏离完美对称。严格等变模型可能难以拟合数据,而无约束模型则缺乏利用部分对称性的合理机制。即使数据完全对称,强制等变也可能因限制参数空间而损害训练。基于同伦原理,我们提出自适应约束等变(ACE),从灵活的非等变模型开始,逐步减小其偏离等变的程度。该渐进收紧过程平滑了早期训练,并使模型收敛至数据驱动的平衡点,实现等变性与非等变性的权衡。在多个架构和任务上,相比严格等变模型及启发式松弛方法,本方法在性能、样本效率和输入扰动鲁棒性方面均有显著提升。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Equivariant neural networks are designed to respect symmetries through their architecture, boosting generalization and sample efficiency when those symmetries are present in the data distribution. Real-world data, however, often departs from perfect symmetry because of noise, structural variation, measurement bias, or other symmetry-breaking effects. Strictly equivariant models may struggle to fit the data, while unconstrained models lack a principled way to leverage partial symmetries. Even when the data is fully symmetric, enforcing equivariance can hurt training by limiting the model to a restricted region of the parameter space. Guided by homotopy principles, where an optimization problem is solved by gradually transforming a simpler problem into a complex one, we introduce Adaptive Constrained Equivariance (ACE), a constrained optimization approach that starts with a flexible, non-equivariant model and gradually reduces its deviation from equivariance. This gradual tightening smooths training early on and settles the model at a data-driven equilibrium, balancing between equivariance and non-equivariance. Across multiple architectures and tasks, our method consistently improves performance metrics, sample efficiency, and robustness to input perturbations compared with strictly equivariant models and heuristic equivariance relaxations.

等变网络优化方法对称性

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