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Sep 2

Distinguishability and linear independence for H-chromatic symmetric functions

We study the H-chromatic symmetric functions X_G^H (introduced in (arXiv:2011.06063) as a generalization of the chromatic symmetric function (CSF) X_G), which track homomorphisms from the graph G to the graph H. We focus first on the case of self-chromatic symmetric functions (self-CSFs) X_G^G, making some progress toward a conjecture from (arXiv:2011.06063) that the self-CSF, like the normal CSF, is always different for different trees. In particular, we show that the self-CSF distinguishes trees from non-trees with just one exception, we check using Sage that it distinguishes all trees on up to 12 vertices, and we show that it determines the number of legs of a spider and the degree sequence of a caterpillar given its spine length. We also show that the self-CSF detects the number of connected components of a forest, again with just one exception. Then we prove some results about the power sum expansions for H-CSFs when H is a complete bipartite graph, in particular proving that the conjecture from (arXiv:2011.06063) about p-monotonicity of ω(X_G^H) for H a star holds as long as H is sufficiently large compared to G. We also show that the self-CSFs of complete multipartite graphs form a basis for the ring Λ of symmetric functions, and we give some construction of bases for the vector space Λ^n of degree n symmetric functions using H-CSFs X_G^H where H is a fixed graph that is not a complete graph, answering a question from (arXiv:2011.06063) about whether such bases exist. However, we show that there generally do not exist such bases with G fixed, even with loops, answering another question from (arXiv:2011.06063). We also define the H-chromatic polynomial as an analogue of the chromatic polynomial, and ask when it is the same for different graphs.

  • 2 authors
·
Nov 11, 2025

Tessellations and Speiser graphs arising from meromorphic functions on simply connected Riemann surfaces

Motivated by W. P. Thurston, we ask: What is the shape of a meromorphic function on a simply connected Riemann surface Ω_z? We consider Speiser functions, i.e. meromorphic functions on a simply connected Riemann surface, that have a finite number q at least 2 of singular (critical or asymptotic) values. As a first result, we make precise the correspondence between: Speiser functions w(z), Speiser Riemann surfaces R_w(z), Speiser q-tessellation, and analytic Speiser graphs of index q. As the second main result, we characterize tessellations with alternating colors (equivalently abstract pre-Speiser graphs) that are realized by Speiser functions on Ω_z. The characterization is in terms of the q-regular extension problem of bipartite planar graphs. As third main results, the Speiser Riemann surface R_w(z) can be constructed by isometric glueing of a finite number of types of sheets, where each sheet is a maximal domain of single-valuedness of the inverse of w(z). Furthermore, a unique decomposition of R_w(z) into maximal logarithmic towers and a soul is provided. Using vector fields we recognize that logarithmic towers come in two flavors: exponential or h-tangent blocks, directly related to the exponential or the hyperbolic tangent functions on the upper half plane. The surface R_w(z) of a finite Speiser function is characterized by surgery of a rational block and a finite number of exponential or h-tangent blocks.

  • 2 authors
·
Jan 30

On composition and decomposition operations for vector spaces, graphs and matroids

In this paper, we study the ideas of composition and decomposition in the context of vector spaces, graphs and matroids. For vector spaces V_{AB}, treated as collection of row vectors, with specified column set Auplus B, we define V_{SP}lrarv V_{PQ}, Scap Q= emptyset, to be the collection of all vectors (f_S,f_Q) such that (f_S,f_P)in V_{SP}, (f_P,f_Q)in V_{PQ}. An analogous operation G_{SP}lrarg G_{PQ}equivd G_{PQ} can be defined in relation to graphs G_{SP}, G_{PQ}, on edge sets Suplus P, Puplus Q, respectively in terms of an overlapping subgraph G_P which gets deleted in the right side graph (see for instance the notion of k-sum oxley). For matroids we define the `linking' M_{SP}lrarm M_{PQ} equivd (M_{SP}vee M_{PQ})times (Suplus Q), denoting the contraction operation by 'times'. In each case, we examine how to minimize the size of the `overlap' set P, without affecting the right side entity. In the case of vector spaces, there is a polynomial time algorithm for achieving the minimum, which we present. Similar ideas work for graphs and for matroids under appropriate conditions. Next we consider the problem of decomposition. Here, in the case of vector spaces, the problem is to decompose V_{SQ} as V_{SP}lrarv V_{PQ}, with minimum size P. We give a polynomial time algorithm for this purpose. In the case of graphs and matroids we give a solution to this problem under certain restrictions.

  • 1 authors
·
Jul 13, 2023

Tensor Decomposition Networks for Fast Machine Learning Interatomic Potential Computations

SO(3)-equivariant networks are the dominant models for machine learning interatomic potentials (MLIPs). The key operation of such networks is the Clebsch-Gordan (CG) tensor product, which is computationally expensive. To accelerate the computation, we develop tensor decomposition networks (TDNs) as a class of approximately equivariant networks in which CG tensor products are replaced by low-rank tensor decompositions, such as the CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) decomposition. With the CP decomposition, we prove (i) a uniform bound on the induced error of SO(3)-equivariance, and (ii) the universality of approximating any equivariant bilinear map. To further reduce the number of parameters, we propose path-weight sharing that ties all multiplicity-space weights across the O(L^3) CG paths into a single shared parameter set without compromising equivariance, where L is the maximum angular degree. The resulting layer acts as a plug-and-play replacement for tensor products in existing networks, and the computational complexity of tensor products is reduced from O(L^6) to O(L^4). We evaluate TDNs on PubChemQCR, a newly curated molecular relaxation dataset containing 105 million DFT-calculated snapshots. We also use existing datasets, including OC20, and OC22. Results show that TDNs achieve competitive performance with dramatic speedup in computations. Our code is publicly available as part of the AIRS library (https://github.com/divelab/AIRS/tree/main/OpenMol/TDN{https://github.com/divelab/AIRS/}).

  • 9 authors
·
Jul 1, 2025

Subgraph Permutation Equivariant Networks

In this work we develop a new method, named Sub-graph Permutation Equivariant Networks (SPEN), which provides a framework for building graph neural networks that operate on sub-graphs, while using a base update function that is permutation equivariant, that are equivariant to a novel choice of automorphism group. Message passing neural networks have been shown to be limited in their expressive power and recent approaches to over come this either lack scalability or require structural information to be encoded into the feature space. The general framework presented here overcomes the scalability issues associated with global permutation equivariance by operating more locally on sub-graphs. In addition, through operating on sub-graphs the expressive power of higher-dimensional global permutation equivariant networks is improved; this is due to fact that two non-distinguishable graphs often contain distinguishable sub-graphs. Furthermore, the proposed framework only requires a choice of k-hops for creating ego-network sub-graphs and a choice of representation space to be used for each layer, which makes the method easily applicable across a range of graph based domains. We experimentally validate the method on a range of graph benchmark classification tasks, demonstrating statistically indistinguishable results from the state-of-the-art on six out of seven benchmarks. Further, we demonstrate that the use of local update functions offers a significant improvement in GPU memory over global methods.

  • 2 authors
·
Nov 23, 2021

Faces of highest weight modules and the universal Weyl polyhedron

Let V be a highest weight module over a Kac-Moody algebra g, and let conv V denote the convex hull of its weights. We determine the combinatorial isomorphism type of conv V, i.e. we completely classify the faces and their inclusions. In the special case where g is semisimple, this brings closure to a question studied by Cellini-Marietti [IMRN 2015] for the adjoint representation, and by Khare [J. Algebra 2016; Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 2017] for most modules. The determination of faces of finite-dimensional modules up to the Weyl group action and some of their inclusions also appears in previous work of Satake [Ann. of Math. 1960], Borel-Tits [IHES Publ. Math. 1965], Vinberg [Izv. Akad. Nauk 1990], and Casselman [Austral. Math. Soc. 1997]. For any subset of the simple roots, we introduce a remarkable convex cone which we call the universal Weyl polyhedron, which controls the convex hulls of all modules parabolically induced from the corresponding Levi factor. Namely, the combinatorial isomorphism type of the cone stores the classification of faces for all such highest weight modules, as well as how faces degenerate as the highest weight gets increasingly singular. To our knowledge, this cone is new in finite and infinite type. We further answer a question of Michel Brion, by showing that the localization of conv V along a face is always the convex hull of the weights of a parabolically induced module. Finally, as we determine the inclusion relations between faces representation-theoretically from the set of weights, without recourse to convexity, we answer a similar question for highest weight modules over symmetrizable quantum groups.

  • 2 authors
·
Oct 31, 2016

Verifying Good Regulator Conditions for Hypergraph Observers: Natural Gradient Learning from Causal Invariance via Established Theorems

We verify that persistent observers in causally invariant hypergraph substrates satisfy the conditions of the Conant-Ashby Good Regulator Theorem. Building on Wolfram's hypergraph physics and Vanchurin's neural network cosmology, we formalize persistent observers as entities that minimize prediction error at their boundary with the environment. Applying a modern reformulation of the Conant-Ashby theorem, we demonstrate that hypergraph observers satisfy Good Regulator conditions, requiring them to maintain internal models. Once an internal model with loss function exists, the emergence of a Fisher information metric follows from standard information geometry. Invoking Amari's uniqueness theorem for reparameterization-invariant gradients, we show that natural gradient descent is the unique admissible learning rule. Under the ansatz M=F^2 for exponential family observers and one specific convergence time functional, we derive a closed-form formula for the regime parameter alpha in Vanchurin's Type II framework, with a quantum-classical threshold at kappa(F)=2. However, three alternative convergence models do not reproduce this result, so this prediction is strongly model-dependent. We further introduce the directional regime parameter alpha_{v_k} and the trace-free deviation tensor, showing that a single observer can simultaneously occupy different Vanchurin regimes along different eigendirections of the Fisher metric. This connects Wolfram and Vanchurin frameworks through established theorems, providing approximately 25-30% novel contribution.

  • 1 authors
·
Mar 9

Iterative Methods via Locally Evolving Set Process

Given the damping factor α and precision tolerance ε, andersen2006local introduced Approximate Personalized PageRank (APPR), the de facto local method for approximating the PPR vector, with runtime bounded by Θ(1/(αε)) independent of the graph size. Recently, fountoulakis2022open asked whether faster local algorithms could be developed using O(1/(sqrtαε)) operations. By noticing that APPR is a local variant of Gauss-Seidel, this paper explores the question of whether standard iterative solvers can be effectively localized. We propose to use the locally evolving set process, a novel framework to characterize the algorithm locality, and demonstrate that many standard solvers can be effectively localized. Let operatorname{vol}{ (S_t)} and overlineγ_{t} be the running average of volume and the residual ratio of active nodes textstyle S_{t} during the process. We show operatorname{vol}{ (S_t)}/overlineγ_{t} leq 1/ε and prove APPR admits a new runtime bound O(operatorname{vol}(S_t)/(αoverlineγ_{t})) mirroring the actual performance. Furthermore, when the geometric mean of residual reduction is Θ(sqrtα), then there exists c in (0,2) such that the local Chebyshev method has runtime O(operatorname{vol}(S_{t})/(sqrtα(2-c))) without the monotonicity assumption. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of this novel framework and show up to a hundredfold speedup over corresponding standard solvers on real-world graphs.

  • 6 authors
·
Oct 18, 2024

Efficient and Scalable Density Functional Theory Hamiltonian Prediction through Adaptive Sparsity

Hamiltonian matrix prediction is pivotal in computational chemistry, serving as the foundation for determining a wide range of molecular properties. While SE(3) equivariant graph neural networks have achieved remarkable success in this domain, their substantial computational cost--driven by high-order tensor product (TP) operations--restricts their scalability to large molecular systems with extensive basis sets. To address this challenge, we introduce SPHNet, an efficient and scalable equivariant network, that incorporates adaptive SParsity into Hamiltonian prediction. SPHNet employs two innovative sparse gates to selectively constrain non-critical interaction combinations, significantly reducing tensor product computations while maintaining accuracy. To optimize the sparse representation, we develop a Three-phase Sparsity Scheduler, ensuring stable convergence and achieving high performance at sparsity rates of up to 70%. Extensive evaluations on QH9 and PubchemQH datasets demonstrate that SPHNet achieves state-of-the-art accuracy while providing up to a 7x speedup over existing models. Beyond Hamiltonian prediction, the proposed sparsification techniques also hold significant potential for improving the efficiency and scalability of other SE(3) equivariant networks, further broadening their applicability and impact. Our code can be found at https://github.com/microsoft/SPHNet.

  • 10 authors
·
Feb 3, 2025

A Numerical Realization of Suzuki's Weil-Quadratic-Form Operator: The Archimedean Spectral Law, its Universality, and an Operator Form of Weil's Positivity Criterion

This paper presents the first numerical realization of Suzuki's Weil-Quadratic-Form operator, a candidate for the Hilbert--Pólya program linking spectral positivity to the Riemann Hypothesis (RH). Suzuki's 2026 construction was purely theoretical; here, the operator is instantiated via P1 finite-element discretization and Richardson extrapolation. Key results include: (R1) In the prime-free regime, the spectrum follows a closed Archimedean law A_k(a) = log(1/a) + log(k-2) + B_0 + O(a), with B_0 = log q - 2log 2, confirmed to 30-digit precision. (R2) A Mellin double-pole argument proves the head coefficient B(ν) and shows B_0 depends only on the conductor q, independent of the Archimedean parameter. (R2b) The degree d of an L-function appears directly as the logarithmic slope of the spectrum. (R3) Total spectral intensity follows the prime number theorem, S(a) sim (2a)^3/6. (R4) Nontrivial zeros are not eigenvalues but occur in the explicit-formula error term of the prime symbol. (R5) The best-match line σ^*(a) descends toward the critical line. (R6) Weil's positivity criterion is realized in operator form: bounded residual growth corresponds to all zeros on the line, while an injected off-line zero causes exponential blow-up. (R7) The lowest eigenvalue λ_1(a) is strictly positive, decays superexponentially, and passes smoothly through the first prime threshold. (R8) The characteristic function W(a,0;z) is computed for the first time, with all zeros confirmed real. (R9) Indirect traces of GUE statistics appear in the moment structure, even where direct detection is blocked. The authors emphasize that this work does not prove RH. All results are Archimedean and universal, with significance lying in the faithful numerical realization of classical identities rather than new arithmetic.

  • 7 authors
·
Jul 22

CayleyPy Growth: Efficient growth computations and hundreds of new conjectures on Cayley graphs (Brief version)

This is the third paper of the CayleyPy project applying artificial intelligence to problems in group theory. We announce the first public release of CayleyPy, an open source Python library for computations with Cayley and Schreier graphs. Compared with systems such as GAP and Sage, CayleyPy handles much larger graphs and performs several orders of magnitude faster. Using CayleyPy we obtained about 200 new conjectures on Cayley and Schreier graphs, focused on diameters and growth. For many Cayley graphs of symmetric groups Sn we observe quasi polynomial diameter formulas: a small set of quadratic or linear polynomials indexed by n mod s. We conjecture that this is a general phenomenon, giving efficient diameter computation despite the problem being NP hard. We propose a refinement of the Babai type conjecture on diameters of Sn: n^2/2 + 4n upper bounds in the undirected case, compared to previous O(n^2) bounds. We also provide explicit generator families, related to involutions in a square with whiskers pattern, conjectured to maximize the diameter; search confirms this for all n up to 15. We further conjecture an answer to a question posed by V M Glushkov in 1968 on directed Cayley graphs generated by a cyclic shift and a transposition. For nilpotent groups we conjecture an improvement of J S Ellenberg's results on upper unitriangular matrices over Z/pZ, showing linear dependence of diameter on p. Moreover. Some conjectures are LLM friendly, naturally stated as sorting problems verifiable by algorithms or Python code. To benchmark path finding we created more than 10 Kaggle datasets. CayleyPy works with arbitrary permutation or matrix groups and includes over 100 predefined generators. Our growth computation code outperforms GAP and Sage up to 1000 times in speed and size.

  • 49 authors
·
Sep 23, 2025

Spherical convolutions on molecular graphs for protein model quality assessment

Processing information on 3D objects requires methods stable to rigid-body transformations, in particular rotations, of the input data. In image processing tasks, convolutional neural networks achieve this property using rotation-equivariant operations. However, contrary to images, graphs generally have irregular topology. This makes it challenging to define a rotation-equivariant convolution operation on these structures. In this work, we propose Spherical Graph Convolutional Network (S-GCN) that processes 3D models of proteins represented as molecular graphs. In a protein molecule, individual amino acids have common topological elements. This allows us to unambiguously associate each amino acid with a local coordinate system and construct rotation-equivariant spherical filters that operate on angular information between graph nodes. Within the framework of the protein model quality assessment problem, we demonstrate that the proposed spherical convolution method significantly improves the quality of model assessment compared to the standard message-passing approach. It is also comparable to state-of-the-art methods, as we demonstrate on Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP) benchmarks. The proposed technique operates only on geometric features of protein 3D models. This makes it universal and applicable to any other geometric-learning task where the graph structure allows constructing local coordinate systems.

  • 3 authors
·
Nov 16, 2020

Detecting Arbitrary Planted Subgraphs in Random Graphs

The problems of detecting and recovering planted structures/subgraphs in Erdős-Rényi random graphs, have received significant attention over the past three decades, leading to many exciting results and mathematical techniques. However, prior work has largely focused on specific ad hoc planted structures and inferential settings, while a general theory has remained elusive. In this paper, we bridge this gap by investigating the detection of an arbitrary planted subgraph Γ= Γ_n in an Erdős-Rényi random graph G(n, q_n), where the edge probability within Γ is p_n. We examine both the statistical and computational aspects of this problem and establish the following results. In the dense regime, where the edge probabilities p_n and q_n are fixed, we tightly characterize the information-theoretic and computational thresholds for detecting Γ, and provide conditions under which a computational-statistical gap arises. Most notably, these thresholds depend on Γ only through its number of edges, maximum degree, and maximum subgraph density. Our lower and upper bounds are general and apply to any value of p_n and q_n as functions of n. Accordingly, we also analyze the sparse regime where q_n = Θ(n^{-α}) and p_n-q_n =Θ(q_n), with αin[0,2], as well as the critical regime where p_n=1-o(1) and q_n = Θ(n^{-α}), both of which have been widely studied, for specific choices of Γ. For these regimes, we show that our bounds are tight for all planted subgraphs investigated in the literature thus farand many more. Finally, we identify conditions under which detection undergoes sharp phase transition, where the boundaries at which algorithms succeed or fail shift abruptly as a function of q_n.

  • 2 authors
·
Mar 24, 2025

Causality and Renormalization in Finite-Time-Path Out-of-Equilibrium φ^3 QFT

Our aim is to contribute to quantum field theory (QFT) formalisms useful for descriptions of short time phenomena, dominant especially in heavy ion collisions. We formulate out-of-equilibrium QFT within the finite-time-path formalism (FTP) and renormalization theory (RT). The potential conflict of FTP and RT is investigated in g phi^3 QFT, by using the retarded/advanced (R/A) basis of Green functions and dimensional renormalization (DR). For example, vertices immediately after (in time) divergent self-energy loops do not conserve energy, as integrals diverge. We "repair" them, while keeping d<4, to obtain energy conservation at those vertices. Already in the S-matrix theory, the renormalized, finite part of Feynman self-energy Sigma_{F}(p_0) does not vanish when |p_0|rightarrowinfty and cannot be split to retarded and advanced parts. In the Glaser--Epstein approach, the causality is repaired in the composite object G_F(p_0)Sigma_{F}(p_0). In the FTP approach, after repairing the vertices, the corresponding composite objects are G_R(p_0)Sigma_{R}(p_0) and Sigma_{A}(p_0)G_A(p_0). In the limit drightarrow 4, one obtains causal QFT. The tadpole contribution splits into diverging and finite parts. The diverging, constant component is eliminated by the renormalization condition langle 0|phi|0rangle =0 of the S-matrix theory. The finite, oscillating energy-nonconserving tadpole contributions vanish in the limit trightarrow infty .

  • 2 authors
·
Dec 31, 2019

Adiabatic Solutions of the Haydys-Witten Equations and Symplectic Khovanov Homology

An influential conjecture by Witten states that there is an instanton Floer homology of four-manifolds with corners that in certain situations is isomorphic to Khovanov homology of a given knot K. The Floer chain complex is generated by Nahm pole solutions of the Kapustin-Witten equations on R^3 times R^+_y with an additional monopole-like singular behaviour along the knot K inside the three-dimensional boundary at y=0. The Floer differential is given by counting solutions of the Haydys-Witten equations that interpolate between Kapustin-Witten solutions along an additional flow direction R_s. This article investigates solutions of a decoupled version of the Kapustin-Witten and Haydys-Witten equations on R_s times R^3 times R^+_y, which in contrast to the full equations exhibit a Hermitian Yang-Mills structure and can be viewed as a lift of the extended Bogomolny equations (EBE) from three to five dimensions. Inspired by Gaiotto-Witten's approach of adiabatically braiding EBE-solutions to obtain generators of the Floer homology, we propose that there is an equivalence between adiabatic solutions of the decoupled Haydys-Witten equations and non-vertical paths in the moduli space of EBE-solutions fibered over the space of monopole positions. Moreover, we argue that the Grothendieck-Springer resolution of the Lie algebra of the gauge group provides a finite-dimensional model of this moduli space of monopole solutions. These considerations suggest an intriguing similarity between Haydys-Witten instanton Floer homology and symplectic Khovanov homology and provide a novel approach towards a proof of Witten's gauge-theoretic interpretations of Khovanov homology.

  • 1 authors
·
Jan 2, 2025

On the Power of the Weisfeiler-Leman Test for Graph Motif Parameters

Seminal research in the field of graph neural networks (GNNs) has revealed a direct correspondence between the expressive capabilities of GNNs and the k-dimensional Weisfeiler-Leman (kWL) test, a widely-recognized method for verifying graph isomorphism. This connection has reignited interest in comprehending the specific graph properties effectively distinguishable by the kWL test. A central focus of research in this field revolves around determining the least dimensionality k, for which kWL can discern graphs with different number of occurrences of a pattern graph P. We refer to such a least k as the WL-dimension of this pattern counting problem. This inquiry traditionally delves into two distinct counting problems related to patterns: subgraph counting and induced subgraph counting. Intriguingly, despite their initial appearance as separate challenges with seemingly divergent approaches, both of these problems are interconnected components of a more comprehensive problem: "graph motif parameters". In this paper, we provide a precise characterization of the WL-dimension of labeled graph motif parameters. As specific instances of this result, we obtain characterizations of the WL-dimension of the subgraph counting and induced subgraph counting problem for every labeled pattern P. We additionally demonstrate that in cases where the kWL test distinguishes between graphs with varying occurrences of a pattern P, the exact number of occurrences of P can be computed uniformly using only local information of the last layer of a corresponding GNN. We finally delve into the challenge of recognizing the WL-dimension of various graph parameters. We give a polynomial time algorithm for determining the WL-dimension of the subgraph counting problem for given pattern P, answering an open question from previous work.

  • 2 authors
·
Sep 29, 2023

Polynomial-Time Optimal Group Selection via the Double-Commutator Eigenvalue Problem

The algebraic diversity framework generalizes temporal averaging over multiple observations to algebraic group action on a single observation for second-order statistical estimation. The central open problem in this framework is group selection: given an M-dimensional observation with unknown covariance structure, find the finite group whose spectral decomposition best matches the covariance. Naive enumeration of all subgroups of the symmetric group S_M requires exponential time in M. We prove that this combinatorial problem reduces to a generalized eigenvalue problem derived from the double commutator of the covariance matrix, yielding a polynomial-time algorithm with complexity O(d^2M^2 + d^3), where d is the dimension of a generator basis. The minimum eigenvector of the double-commutator matrix directly constructs the optimal group generator in closed form, with no iterative optimization. The reduction is exact: the double-commutator minimum eigenvalue is zero if and only if the optimal generator lies in the span of the basis, and its magnitude provides a certifiable optimality gap when it does not. This problem does not appear in the standard catalogs of computational complexity (Garey and Johnson, 1979) and represents a new class linking group theory, matrix analysis, and statistical estimation. We establish connections to independent component analysis (JADE), structured matrix nearness problems, and simultaneous matrix diagonalization, and we show that the double-commutator formulation is the unique approach that is simultaneously polynomial-time, closed-form, and certifiable. We extend the framework to non-Abelian symmetry recovery via a Sequential GEVP with deflation, and add two identifiability theorems characterizing the commutant-lattice ambiguity and the dichotomy on whether Aut(R) recovers a generative subgroup or only a supergroup.

  • 1 authors
·
May 7

Equivariant Polynomials for Graph Neural Networks

Graph Neural Networks (GNN) are inherently limited in their expressive power. Recent seminal works (Xu et al., 2019; Morris et al., 2019b) introduced the Weisfeiler-Lehman (WL) hierarchy as a measure of expressive power. Although this hierarchy has propelled significant advances in GNN analysis and architecture developments, it suffers from several significant limitations. These include a complex definition that lacks direct guidance for model improvement and a WL hierarchy that is too coarse to study current GNNs. This paper introduces an alternative expressive power hierarchy based on the ability of GNNs to calculate equivariant polynomials of a certain degree. As a first step, we provide a full characterization of all equivariant graph polynomials by introducing a concrete basis, significantly generalizing previous results. Each basis element corresponds to a specific multi-graph, and its computation over some graph data input corresponds to a tensor contraction problem. Second, we propose algorithmic tools for evaluating the expressiveness of GNNs using tensor contraction sequences, and calculate the expressive power of popular GNNs. Finally, we enhance the expressivity of common GNN architectures by adding polynomial features or additional operations / aggregations inspired by our theory. These enhanced GNNs demonstrate state-of-the-art results in experiments across multiple graph learning benchmarks.

  • 5 authors
·
Feb 22, 2023

Multiflavor Mott insulators in quantum materials and ultracold atoms

Mott insulators with large and active (or multiflavor) local Hilbert spaces widely occur in quantum materials and ultracold atomic systems, and are dubbed "multiflavor Mott insulators". For these multiflavored Mott insulating materials, the spin-only description with the quadratic spin interactions is often insufficient to capture the major physical processes. In the situation with active orbitals, the Kugel-Khomskii superexchange model was then proposed. We briefly review this historical model and discuss the modern developments beyond the original spin-orbital context. These include and are not restricted to the 4d/5d transition metal compounds with the spin-orbit-entangled J=3/2 quadruplets, the rare-earth magnets with two weakly-separated crystal field doublets, breathing magnets and/or the cluster and molecular magnets, et al. We explain the microscopic origin of the emergent Kugel-Khomskii physics in each realization with some emphasis on the J=3/2 quadruplets, and refer the candidate multiflavor Mott insulators as "J=3/2 Mott insulators". For the ultracold atoms, we review the multiflavor Mott insulator realization with the ultracold alkaline and alkaline-earth atoms on the optical lattices. Despite a large local Hilbert space from the atomic hyperfine spin states, the system could naturally realize a large symmetry group such as the Sp(N) and SU(N) symmetries. These ultracold atomic systems lie in the large-N regime of these symmetry groups and are characterized by strong quantum fluctuations. The Kugel-Khomskii physics and the exotic quantum ground states with the "baryon-like" physics can appear in various limits. We conclude with our vision and outlook on this subject.

  • 2 authors
·
Dec 5, 2021

Learning Hierarchical Polynomials with Three-Layer Neural Networks

We study the problem of learning hierarchical polynomials over the standard Gaussian distribution with three-layer neural networks. We specifically consider target functions of the form h = g circ p where p : R^d rightarrow R is a degree k polynomial and g: R rightarrow R is a degree q polynomial. This function class generalizes the single-index model, which corresponds to k=1, and is a natural class of functions possessing an underlying hierarchical structure. Our main result shows that for a large subclass of degree k polynomials p, a three-layer neural network trained via layerwise gradient descent on the square loss learns the target h up to vanishing test error in mathcal{O}(d^k) samples and polynomial time. This is a strict improvement over kernel methods, which require widetilde Theta(d^{kq}) samples, as well as existing guarantees for two-layer networks, which require the target function to be low-rank. Our result also generalizes prior works on three-layer neural networks, which were restricted to the case of p being a quadratic. When p is indeed a quadratic, we achieve the information-theoretically optimal sample complexity mathcal{O}(d^2), which is an improvement over prior work~nichani2023provable requiring a sample size of widetildeTheta(d^4). Our proof proceeds by showing that during the initial stage of training the network performs feature learning to recover the feature p with mathcal{O}(d^k) samples. This work demonstrates the ability of three-layer neural networks to learn complex features and as a result, learn a broad class of hierarchical functions.

  • 3 authors
·
Nov 22, 2023

On the Stability of Expressive Positional Encodings for Graph Neural Networks

Designing effective positional encodings for graphs is key to building powerful graph transformers and enhancing message-passing graph neural networks. Although widespread, using Laplacian eigenvectors as positional encodings faces two fundamental challenges: (1) Non-uniqueness: there are many different eigendecompositions of the same Laplacian, and (2) Instability: small perturbations to the Laplacian could result in completely different eigenspaces, leading to unpredictable changes in positional encoding. Despite many attempts to address non-uniqueness, most methods overlook stability, leading to poor generalization on unseen graph structures. We identify the cause of instability to be a "hard partition" of eigenspaces. Hence, we introduce Stable and Expressive Positional Encodings (SPE), an architecture for processing eigenvectors that uses eigenvalues to "softly partition" eigenspaces. SPE is the first architecture that is (1) provably stable, and (2) universally expressive for basis invariant functions whilst respecting all symmetries of eigenvectors. Besides guaranteed stability, we prove that SPE is at least as expressive as existing methods, and highly capable of counting graph structures. Finally, we evaluate the effectiveness of our method on molecular property prediction, and out-of-distribution generalization tasks, finding improved generalization compared to existing positional encoding methods.

  • 7 authors
·
Oct 4, 2023

Coxeter Condorcet domains

Condorcet domains are subsets of permutations that ensure pairwise majority voting yields acyclic outcomes, and they form an active area of research at the intersection of social choice theory and combinatorics. In this paper, we extend the theory of Condorcet domains to the broader setting of arbitrary finite Coxeter groups. The core contribution of our approach is the introduction of Condorcet root posets, defined on the chosen root systems. Notably, we establish a natural bijection between closed Condorcet domains and Condorcet root posets, which facilitates the study of Condorcet domains. Using this correspondence, we extend the median graph representation of closed Condorcet domains to arbitrary finite Coxeter groups, demonstrating that these domains can be characterized by the skeletons of their associated Condorcet root posets. These results are novel even in type A. Furthermore, these posets give a unified language that efficiently captures a wide range of desirable properties of Condorcet domains, such as being maximal, connected, peak-pit, and of tiling type. Using this framework, we strengthen and generalize several classical results: we establish that a maximal Condorcet domain is connected if and only if it is peak-pit; we prove that the tiling-type property is equivalent to the combination of being maximal and connected, and having maximal width; and we show that strictly positive voting profiles on connected Condorcet domains yield outcomes with only simple ties.

  • 2 authors
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May 31

Stochastic Function Certification with Correlations

We study the Stochastic Boolean Function Certification (SBFC) problem, where we are given n Bernoulli random variables {X_e: e in U} on a ground set U of n elements with joint distribution p, a Boolean function f: 2^U to {0, 1}, and an (unknown) scenario S = {e in U: X_e = 1} of active elements sampled from p. We seek to probe the elements one-at-a-time to reveal if they are active until we can certify f(S) = 1, while minimizing the expected number of probes. Unlike most previous results that assume independence, we study correlated distributions p and give approximation algorithms for several classes of functions f. When f(S) is the indicator function for whether S is the spanning set of a given matroid, our problem reduces to finding a basis of active elements of a matroid by probing elements. We give a non-adaptive O(log n)-approximation algorithm for arbitrary distributions p, and show that this is tight up to constants unless P = NP, even for partition matroids. For uniform matroids, we give constant factor 4.642-approximation ([BBFT20]) that can be further improved to a 2-approximation if additionally the random variables are negatively correlated for the case of 1-uniform matroid. We also give an adaptive O(log k)-approximation algorithm for SBFC for k-uniform matroids for the Graph Probing problem, where we seek to probe the edges of a graph one-at-a-time until we find k active edges. The underlying distribution on edges arises from (hidden) independent vertex random variables, with an edge being active if at least one of its endpoints is active. This significantly improves over the information-theoretic lower bound on Ω(poly(n)) ([JGM19]) for adaptive algorithms for k-uniform matroids with arbitrary distributions.

  • 3 authors
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Apr 2

Knowledge Graph Embedding by Normalizing Flows

A key to knowledge graph embedding (KGE) is to choose a proper representation space, e.g., point-wise Euclidean space and complex vector space. In this paper, we propose a unified perspective of embedding and introduce uncertainty into KGE from the view of group theory. Our model can incorporate existing models (i.e., generality), ensure the computation is tractable (i.e., efficiency) and enjoy the expressive power of complex random variables (i.e., expressiveness). The core idea is that we embed entities/relations as elements of a symmetric group, i.e., permutations of a set. Permutations of different sets can reflect different properties of embedding. And the group operation of symmetric groups is easy to compute. In specific, we show that the embedding of many existing models, point vectors, can be seen as elements of a symmetric group. To reflect uncertainty, we first embed entities/relations as permutations of a set of random variables. A permutation can transform a simple random variable into a complex random variable for greater expressiveness, called a normalizing flow. We then define scoring functions by measuring the similarity of two normalizing flows, namely NFE. We construct several instantiating models and prove that they are able to learn logical rules. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of introducing uncertainty and our model. The code is available at https://github.com/changyi7231/NFE.

  • 3 authors
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Sep 30, 2024

An analytical framework for the Levine hats problem: new strategies, bounds and generalizations

We study the Levine hat problem, a classic combinatorial puzzle introduced by Lionel Levine in 2010. This problem involves a game in which n geq 2 players, each seeing an infinite stack of hats on each of their teammates' heads but not on their own, must simultaneously guess the index of a black hat on their own stack. If one of the players fails to do so, the team loses collectively. The players must therefore come up with a good strategy before the game starts. While the optimal winning probability V_{n} remains unknown even for n=2, we make three key advances. First, we develop a novel geometric framework for representing strategies through measurable functions, providing a new expression of V_{n} and a unified treatment of the game for finite and for infinite stacks via integral formulations. Secondly, we construct a new strategy K_{5} that reaches the conjectured optimal probability of victory : 0.35. We also show that K_{5} is part of a larger class of strategies that allow us to improve current bounds and resolve conjectured inequalities. Finally, we introduce and entirely solve a continuous generalization of the problem, demonstrating that extending to uncountable hat stacks increases the optimal winning probability to exactly 1/2. This generalization naturally leads to a broader and smoother strategic framework, within which we also describe how to compute optimal responses to a range of strategies.

  • 5 authors
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Aug 3, 2025

Extensions of Schoen--Simon--Yau and Schoen--Simon theorems via iteration à la De Giorgi

We give an alternative proof of the Schoen--Simon--Yau curvature estimates and associated Bernstein-type theorems (1975), and extend the original result by including the case of 6-dimensional (stable minimal) immersions. The key step is an ε-regularity theorem, that assumes smallness of the scale-invariant L^2 norm of the second fundamental form. Further, we obtain a graph description, in the Lipschitz multi-valued sense, for any stable minimal immersion of dimension ngeq 2, that may have a singular set Σ of locally finite H^{n-2}-measure, and that is weakly close to a hyperplane. (In fact, if H^{n-2}(Σ)=0, the conclusion is strengthened to a union of smooth graphs.) This follows directly from an ε-regularity theorem, that assumes smallness of the scale-invariant L^2 tilt-excess (verified when the hypersurface is weakly close to a hyperplane). Specialising the multi-valued decomposition to the case of embeddings, we recover the Schoen--Simon theorem (1981). In both ε-regularity theorems the relevant quantity (respectively, length of the second fundamental form and tilt function) solves a non-linear PDE on the immersed minimal hypersurface. The proof is carried out intrinsically (without linearising the PDE) by implementing an iteration method à la De Giorgi (from the linear De Giorgi--Nash--Moser theory). Stability implies estimates (intrinsic weak Caccioppoli inequalities) that make the iteration effective despite the non-linear framework. (In both ε-regularity theorems the method gives explicit constants that quantify the required smallness.)

  • 1 authors
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Sep 11, 2025

Differentiability and Optimization of Multiparameter Persistent Homology

Real-valued functions on geometric data -- such as node attributes on a graph -- can be optimized using descriptors from persistent homology, allowing the user to incorporate topological terms in the loss function. When optimizing a single real-valued function (the one-parameter setting), there is a canonical choice of descriptor for persistent homology: the barcode. The operation mapping a real-valued function to its barcode is differentiable almost everywhere, and the convergence of gradient descent for losses using barcodes is relatively well understood. When optimizing a vector-valued function (the multiparameter setting), there is no unique choice of descriptor for multiparameter persistent homology, and many distinct descriptors have been proposed. This calls for the development of a general framework for differentiability and optimization that applies to a wide range of multiparameter homological descriptors. In this article, we develop such a framework and show that it encompasses well-known descriptors of different flavors, such as signed barcodes and the multiparameter persistence landscape. We complement the theory with numerical experiments supporting the idea that optimizing multiparameter homological descriptors can lead to improved performances compared to optimizing one-parameter descriptors, even when using the simplest and most efficiently computable multiparameter descriptors.

Enabling Efficient Equivariant Operations in the Fourier Basis via Gaunt Tensor Products

Developing equivariant neural networks for the E(3) group plays an important role in modeling 3D data across real-world applications. Enforcing this equivariance primarily involves the tensor products of irreducible representations (irreps). However, the computational complexity of such operations increases significantly as higher-order tensors are used. In this work, we propose a systematic approach to substantially accelerate the computation of the tensor products of irreps. We mathematically connect the commonly used Clebsch-Gordan coefficients to the Gaunt coefficients, which are integrals of products of three spherical harmonics. Through Gaunt coefficients, the tensor product of irreps becomes equivalent to the multiplication between spherical functions represented by spherical harmonics. This perspective further allows us to change the basis for the equivariant operations from spherical harmonics to a 2D Fourier basis. Consequently, the multiplication between spherical functions represented by a 2D Fourier basis can be efficiently computed via the convolution theorem and Fast Fourier Transforms. This transformation reduces the complexity of full tensor products of irreps from O(L^6) to O(L^3), where L is the max degree of irreps. Leveraging this approach, we introduce the Gaunt Tensor Product, which serves as a new method to construct efficient equivariant operations across different model architectures. Our experiments on the Open Catalyst Project and 3BPA datasets demonstrate both the increased efficiency and improved performance of our approach.

  • 3 authors
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Jan 18, 2024