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Main Authors: Termehchi, Atefeh, Hossain, Ekram, Woungang, Isaac
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08122
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author Termehchi, Atefeh
Hossain, Ekram
Woungang, Isaac
author_facet Termehchi, Atefeh
Hossain, Ekram
Woungang, Isaac
contents Deep learning (DL) has driven broad advances across scientific and engineering domains. Despite its success, DL models often exhibit limited interpretability and generalization, which can undermine trust, especially in safety-critical deployments. As a result, there is growing interest in (i) analyzing interpretability and generalization and (ii) developing models that perform robustly under data distributions different from those seen during training (i.e. domain generalization). However, the theoretical analysis of DL remains incomplete. For example, many generalization analyses assume independent samples, which is violated in sequential data with temporal correlations. Motivated by these limitations, this paper proposes a method to analyze interpretability and out-of-domain (OOD) generalization for a family of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). Specifically, the evolution of a trained RNN's states is modeled as an unknown, discrete-time, nonlinear closed-loop feedback system. Using Koopman operator theory, these nonlinear dynamics are approximated with a linear operator, enabling interpretability. Spectral analysis is then used to quantify the worst-case impact of domain shifts on the generalization error. Building on this analysis, a domain generalization method is proposed that reduces the OOD generalization error and improves the robustness to distribution shifts. Finally, the proposed analysis and domain generalization approach are validated on practical temporal pattern-learning tasks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_08122
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Generalization Analysis and Method for Domain Generalization for a Family of Recurrent Neural Networks
Termehchi, Atefeh
Hossain, Ekram
Woungang, Isaac
Machine Learning
Deep learning (DL) has driven broad advances across scientific and engineering domains. Despite its success, DL models often exhibit limited interpretability and generalization, which can undermine trust, especially in safety-critical deployments. As a result, there is growing interest in (i) analyzing interpretability and generalization and (ii) developing models that perform robustly under data distributions different from those seen during training (i.e. domain generalization). However, the theoretical analysis of DL remains incomplete. For example, many generalization analyses assume independent samples, which is violated in sequential data with temporal correlations. Motivated by these limitations, this paper proposes a method to analyze interpretability and out-of-domain (OOD) generalization for a family of recurrent neural networks (RNNs). Specifically, the evolution of a trained RNN's states is modeled as an unknown, discrete-time, nonlinear closed-loop feedback system. Using Koopman operator theory, these nonlinear dynamics are approximated with a linear operator, enabling interpretability. Spectral analysis is then used to quantify the worst-case impact of domain shifts on the generalization error. Building on this analysis, a domain generalization method is proposed that reduces the OOD generalization error and improves the robustness to distribution shifts. Finally, the proposed analysis and domain generalization approach are validated on practical temporal pattern-learning tasks.
title Generalization Analysis and Method for Domain Generalization for a Family of Recurrent Neural Networks
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08122