A Spin Glass Characterization of Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteur principal: Li, Jun
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Li, Jun
author_facet Li, Jun
contents This work presents a statistical mechanics characterization of neural networks, motivated by the replica symmetry breaking (RSB) phenomenon in spin glasses. A Hopfield-type spin glass model is constructed from a given feedforward neural network (FNN). Overlaps between simulated replica samples serve as a characteristic descriptor of the FNN. The connection between the spin-glass description and commonly studied properties of the FNN -- such as data fitting, capacity, generalization, and robustness -- has been investigated and empirically demonstrated. Unlike prior analytical studies that focus on model ensembles, this method provides a computable descriptor for individual network instances, which reveals nontrivial structural properties that are not captured by conventional metrics such as loss or accuracy. Preliminary results suggests its potential for practical applications such as model inspection, safety verification, and detection of hidden vulnerabilities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_07397
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Spin Glass Characterization of Neural Networks
Li, Jun
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
This work presents a statistical mechanics characterization of neural networks, motivated by the replica symmetry breaking (RSB) phenomenon in spin glasses. A Hopfield-type spin glass model is constructed from a given feedforward neural network (FNN). Overlaps between simulated replica samples serve as a characteristic descriptor of the FNN. The connection between the spin-glass description and commonly studied properties of the FNN -- such as data fitting, capacity, generalization, and robustness -- has been investigated and empirically demonstrated. Unlike prior analytical studies that focus on model ensembles, this method provides a computable descriptor for individual network instances, which reveals nontrivial structural properties that are not captured by conventional metrics such as loss or accuracy. Preliminary results suggests its potential for practical applications such as model inspection, safety verification, and detection of hidden vulnerabilities.
title A Spin Glass Characterization of Neural Networks
topic Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.07397