Deep ReLU networks and high-order finite element methods II: Chebyshev emulation
This work addresses the challenge of efficient neural network emulation for numerical analysis applications, offering incremental improvements in expression rates and stability for specific function approximations.
The paper tackles the problem of approximating continuous, piecewise polynomial functions using deep ReLU neural networks by developing novel constructions based on Chebyshev polynomial expansions, which require fewer neurons and achieve superior bounds on expression rates and stability compared to previous methods. It provides explicit emulation error estimates for various function classes, including exponential rate bounds for analytic functions with singularities.
We show expression rates and stability in Sobolev norms of deep feedforward ReLU neural networks (NNs) in terms of the number of parameters defining the NN for continuous, piecewise polynomial functions, on arbitrary, finite partitions $\mathcal{T}$ of a bounded interval $(a,b)$. Novel constructions of ReLU NN surrogates encoding function approximations in terms of Chebyshev polynomial expansion coefficients are developed which require fewer neurons than previous constructions. Chebyshev coefficients can be computed easily from the values of the function in the Clenshaw--Curtis points using the inverse fast Fourier transform. Bounds on expression rates and stability are obtained that are superior to those of constructions based on ReLU NN emulations of monomials as considered in [Opschoor, Petersen and Schwab, 2020] and [Montanelli, Yang and Du, 2021]. All emulation bounds are explicit in terms of the (arbitrary) partition of the interval, the target emulation accuracy and the polynomial degree in each element of the partition. ReLU NN emulation error estimates are provided for various classes of functions and norms, commonly encountered in numerical analysis. In particular, we show exponential ReLU emulation rate bounds for analytic functions with point singularities and develop an interface between Chebfun approximations and constructive ReLU NN emulations.