提出可解释的时序特征表示,提升长序列学习效果。
The Volterra signature
- 用核函数加权路径构建显式张量代数特征
- 证明特征映射可识别,线性模型即可逼近任意路径函数
- 支持高效计算,适合时序建模与数据科学应用
针对非马尔可夫时序数据的学习方法(如RNN、神经微分方程或Transformer)通常依赖难以解释的隐式记忆机制,且在长序列上训练困难。本文提出 extit{Volterra签名} $ ext{VSig}(x;K)$,作为历史依赖系统的严谨显式特征表示。通过将输入路径 $x$ 按时间核 $K$ 加权展开至张量代数,并利用Volterra-Chen恒等式,获得严格的学习理论保证。具体而言,我们证明了 extit{单射性}(增强下的可辨识性),进而推出在无限维路径空间上的 extit{通用逼近定理},某些情况下由$ ext{VSig}(x;K)$的线性泛函即可实现。此外,我们展示了 extit{核技巧}的适用性:关联内积可通过双参数积分方程封闭表征,从而引入偏微分方程数值方法进行计算。对于一大类指数型核,$ ext{VSig}(x;K)$ 在张量代数中满足线性状态空间常微分方程。结合对时间重参数化的内在不变性,该签名成为鲁棒且可计算的特征映射。我们在真实与合成数据上的动态学习任务中验证其有效性,结果一致优于经典路径签名基线。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Modern approaches for learning from non-Markovian time series, such as recurrent neural networks, neural controlled differential equations or transformers, typically rely on implicit memory mechanisms that can be difficult to interpret or to train over long horizons. We propose the \emph{Volterra signature} $\mathrm{VSig}(x;K)$ as a principled, explicit feature representation for history-dependent systems. By developing the input path $x$ weighted by a temporal kernel $K$ into the tensor algebra, we leverage the associated Volterra--Chen identity to derive rigorous learning-theoretic guarantees. Specifically, we prove an \emph{injectivity} statement (identifiability under augmentation) that leads to a \emph{universal approximation} theorem on the infinite dimensional path space, which in certain cases is achieved by \emph{linear functionals} of $\mathrm{VSig}(x;K)$. Moreover, we demonstrate applicability of the \emph{kernel trick} by showing that the inner product associated with Volterra signatures admits a closed characterization via a two-parameter integral equation, enabling numerical methods from PDEs for computation. For a large class of exponential-type kernels, $\mathrm{VSig}(x;K)$ solves a linear state-space ODE in the tensor algebra. Combined with inherent invariance to time reparameterization, these results position the Volterra signature as a robust, computationally tractable feature map for data science. We demonstrate its efficacy in dynamic learning tasks on real and synthetic data, where it consistently improves classical path signature baselines.
Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。