Jet Functors and Weil Algebras in Automatic Differentiation: A Geometric Analysis

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1. Verfasser: Sangha, Amandip
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Sangha, Amandip
author_facet Sangha, Amandip
contents We present a differential-geometric formulation of automatic differentiation (AD) based on jet functors and Weil algebras. In this framework, forward- and reverse-mode differentiation arise naturally as pushforward and cotangent pullback, while higher-order differentiation corresponds to evaluation in a Weil algebra. This construction provides a unified, coordinate-free view of derivative propagation and clarifies the algebraic structure underlying AD. All results are realized in modern JAX code, where the Weil-mode formulation computes all mixed derivatives in a single forward pass with cost linear in the algebra dimension. The resulting implementation achieves algebraically exact and numerically stable differentiation with predictable scaling, demonstrating that geometric abstraction can yield more efficient and transparent computational differentiation systems. Code is available at https://git.nilu.no/geometric-ad/jet-weil-ad
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_14342
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Jet Functors and Weil Algebras in Automatic Differentiation: A Geometric Analysis
Sangha, Amandip
Machine Learning
Differential Geometry
We present a differential-geometric formulation of automatic differentiation (AD) based on jet functors and Weil algebras. In this framework, forward- and reverse-mode differentiation arise naturally as pushforward and cotangent pullback, while higher-order differentiation corresponds to evaluation in a Weil algebra. This construction provides a unified, coordinate-free view of derivative propagation and clarifies the algebraic structure underlying AD. All results are realized in modern JAX code, where the Weil-mode formulation computes all mixed derivatives in a single forward pass with cost linear in the algebra dimension. The resulting implementation achieves algebraically exact and numerically stable differentiation with predictable scaling, demonstrating that geometric abstraction can yield more efficient and transparent computational differentiation systems. Code is available at https://git.nilu.no/geometric-ad/jet-weil-ad
title Jet Functors and Weil Algebras in Automatic Differentiation: A Geometric Analysis
topic Machine Learning
Differential Geometry
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.14342