Paper ID: 2408.14445

Symmetry & Critical Points

Yossi Arjevani

Critical points of an invariant function may or may not be symmetric. We prove, however, that if a symmetric critical point exists, those adjacent to it are generically symmetry breaking. This mathematical mechanism is shown to carry important implications for our ability to efficiently minimize invariant nonconvex functions, in particular those associated with neural networks.

Submitted: Aug 26, 2024