Stochastic Gradient Descent for Two-layer Neural Networks

Dinghao Cao, Zheng-Chu Guo, Lei Shi

Published 2024-07-10Version 1

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the convergence rates of the stochastic gradient descent (SGD) algorithm when applied to overparameterized two-layer neural networks. Our approach combines the Neural Tangent Kernel (NTK) approximation with convergence analysis in the Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) generated by NTK, aiming to provide a deep understanding of the convergence behavior of SGD in overparameterized two-layer neural networks. Our research framework enables us to explore the intricate interplay between kernel methods and optimization processes, shedding light on the optimization dynamics and convergence properties of neural networks. In this study, we establish sharp convergence rates for the last iterate of the SGD algorithm in overparameterized two-layer neural networks. Additionally, we have made significant advancements in relaxing the constraints on the number of neurons, which have been reduced from exponential dependence to polynomial dependence on the sample size or number of iterations. This improvement allows for more flexibility in the design and scaling of neural networks, and will deepen our theoretical understanding of neural network models trained with SGD.