From Black Box to Bijection: Interpreting Machine Learning to Build a Zeta Map Algorithm

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Huang, Xiaoyu, Jackson, Blake, Lee, Kyu-Hwan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866909905508630528
author Huang, Xiaoyu
Jackson, Blake
Lee, Kyu-Hwan
author_facet Huang, Xiaoyu
Jackson, Blake
Lee, Kyu-Hwan
contents There is a large class of problems in algebraic combinatorics which can be distilled into the same challenge: construct an explicit combinatorial bijection. Traditionally, researchers have solved challenges like these by visually inspecting the data for patterns, formulating conjectures, and then proving them. But what is to be done if patterns fail to emerge until the data grows beyond human scale? In this paper, we propose a new workflow for discovering combinatorial bijections via machine learning. As a proof of concept, we train a transformer on paired Dyck paths and use its learned attention patterns to derive a new algorithmic description of the zeta map, which we call the \textit{Scaffolding Map}.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_12421
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Black Box to Bijection: Interpreting Machine Learning to Build a Zeta Map Algorithm
Huang, Xiaoyu
Jackson, Blake
Lee, Kyu-Hwan
Combinatorics
Machine Learning
05A19 (Primary) 05-08, 68T07 (Secondary)
G.2.1; I.2.6; I.2.7; J.2
There is a large class of problems in algebraic combinatorics which can be distilled into the same challenge: construct an explicit combinatorial bijection. Traditionally, researchers have solved challenges like these by visually inspecting the data for patterns, formulating conjectures, and then proving them. But what is to be done if patterns fail to emerge until the data grows beyond human scale? In this paper, we propose a new workflow for discovering combinatorial bijections via machine learning. As a proof of concept, we train a transformer on paired Dyck paths and use its learned attention patterns to derive a new algorithmic description of the zeta map, which we call the \textit{Scaffolding Map}.
title From Black Box to Bijection: Interpreting Machine Learning to Build a Zeta Map Algorithm
topic Combinatorics
Machine Learning
05A19 (Primary) 05-08, 68T07 (Secondary)
G.2.1; I.2.6; I.2.7; J.2
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.12421