Wasserstein-based Kernel Principal Component Analysis for Clustering Applications

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Oneto, Alfredo, Gjorgiev, Blazhe, Sansavini, Giovanni
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Oneto, Alfredo
Gjorgiev, Blazhe
Sansavini, Giovanni
author_facet Oneto, Alfredo
Gjorgiev, Blazhe
Sansavini, Giovanni
contents Many data clustering applications must handle objects that cannot be represented as vectors. In this context, the bag-of-vectors representation describes complex objects through discrete distributions, for which the Wasserstein distance provides a well-conditioned dissimilarity measure. Kernel methods extend this by embedding distance information into feature spaces that facilitate analysis. However, an unsupervised framework that combines kernels with Wasserstein distances for clustering distributional data is still lacking. We address this gap by introducing a computationally tractable framework that integrates Wasserstein metrics with kernel methods for clustering. The framework can accommodate both vectorial and distributional data, enabling applications in various domains. It comprises three components: (i) an efficient approximation of pairwise Wasserstein distances using multiple reference distributions; (ii) shifted positive definite kernel functions based on Wasserstein distances, combined with kernel principal component analysis for feature mapping; and (iii) scalable, distance-agnostic validity indices for clustering evaluation and kernel parameter optimization. Experiments on power distribution graphs and real-world time series demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_14357
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Wasserstein-based Kernel Principal Component Analysis for Clustering Applications
Oneto, Alfredo
Gjorgiev, Blazhe
Sansavini, Giovanni
Machine Learning
Applications
Many data clustering applications must handle objects that cannot be represented as vectors. In this context, the bag-of-vectors representation describes complex objects through discrete distributions, for which the Wasserstein distance provides a well-conditioned dissimilarity measure. Kernel methods extend this by embedding distance information into feature spaces that facilitate analysis. However, an unsupervised framework that combines kernels with Wasserstein distances for clustering distributional data is still lacking. We address this gap by introducing a computationally tractable framework that integrates Wasserstein metrics with kernel methods for clustering. The framework can accommodate both vectorial and distributional data, enabling applications in various domains. It comprises three components: (i) an efficient approximation of pairwise Wasserstein distances using multiple reference distributions; (ii) shifted positive definite kernel functions based on Wasserstein distances, combined with kernel principal component analysis for feature mapping; and (iii) scalable, distance-agnostic validity indices for clustering evaluation and kernel parameter optimization. Experiments on power distribution graphs and real-world time series demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed framework.
title Wasserstein-based Kernel Principal Component Analysis for Clustering Applications
topic Machine Learning
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14357