arXiv:2601.05157cs.DScs.LG2026-01被引 1

提出高效方法学习高维重尾混合分布参数,无需均值分离与低阶矩。

Learning Mixture Models via Efficient High-dimensional Sparse Fourier Transforms

  • 基于高效高维稀疏傅里叶变换学习混合模型
  • 首次实现对无有限协方差分布的多项式时间学习
  • 适用于重尾特征函数分布,适合鲁棒统计估计场景

本文提出一种${\rm poly}(d,k)$时间与样本复杂度的算法,用于高效学习$d$维空间中$k$个球形分布的混合模型。与以往方法不同,该方法适用于重尾分布(如拉普拉斯分布),甚至包括无有限协方差的情况。算法在组件分布的特征函数具有足够重尾时即有效,但不适用于高斯分布。我们证明:对拉普拉斯分布,任何依赖低阶矩的方法都需超多项式样本。本方法突破了矩法的局限,且无需各簇均值间最小分离,这与球形高斯混合需信息论下最小$\\oldsymbol{\ell_2}$分离形成鲜明对比。方法可与现有技术结合,实现“双优”保证:当每个成分特征函数重尾,或为亚高斯尾部且特征函数轻尾时均适用。算法基于新的高维稀疏傅里叶变换学习框架,有望拓展至其他统计估计任务。作为应用,我们给出对抗噪声盲设敌手的一致鲁棒均值估计算法,该模型源于多假设检验文献,由作者之一硕士论文首次提出,并已引发后续研究。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

In this work, we give a ${\rm poly}(d,k)$ time and sample algorithm for efficiently learning the parameters of a mixture of $k$ spherical distributions in $d$ dimensions. Unlike all previous methods, our techniques apply to heavy-tailed distributions and include examples that do not even have finite covariances. Our method succeeds whenever the cluster distributions have a characteristic function with sufficiently heavy tails. Such distributions include the Laplace distribution but crucially exclude Gaussians. All previous methods for learning mixture models relied implicitly or explicitly on the low-degree moments. Even for the case of Laplace distributions, we prove that any such algorithm must use super-polynomially many samples. Our method thus adds to the short list of techniques that bypass the limitations of the method of moments. Somewhat surprisingly, our algorithm does not require any minimum separation between the cluster means. This is in stark contrast to spherical Gaussian mixtures where a minimum $\ell_2$-separation is provably necessary even information-theoretically [Regev and Vijayaraghavan '17]. Our methods compose well with existing techniques and allow obtaining ''best of both worlds" guarantees for mixtures where every component either has a heavy-tailed characteristic function or has a sub-Gaussian tail with a light-tailed characteristic function. Our algorithm is based on a new approach to learning mixture models via efficient high-dimensional sparse Fourier transforms. We believe that this method will find more applications to statistical estimation. As an example, we give an algorithm for consistent robust mean estimation against noise-oblivious adversaries, a model practically motivated by the literature on multiple hypothesis testing. It was formally proposed in a recent Master's thesis by one of the authors, and has already inspired follow-up works.

混合模型稀疏傅里叶鲁棒估计高维统计

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