Low Dimensional Landscape Hypothesis is True: DNNs can be Trained in Tiny Subspaces
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Abstract (arXiv)
Deep neural networks (DNNs) usually contain massive parameters, but there is redundancy such that it is guessed that the DNNs could be trained in low-dimensional subspaces. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic Linear Dimensionality Reduction (DLDR) based on low-dimensional properties of the training trajectory. The reduction is efficient, which is supported by comprehensive experiments: optimization in 40 dimensional spaces can achieve comparable performance as regular training over thousands or even millions of parameters. Since there are only a few optimization variables, we develop a quasi-Newton-based algorithm and also obtain robustness against label noises, which are two follow-up experiments to show the advantages of finding low-dimensional subspaces.
Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 36 of its 51 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 20 Mar 2021.
Builds on
36 of 51 references.
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24 more
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Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2021: 1; 2022: 2; 2023: 0; 2024: 1; 2025: 0; 2026: 1.
5 papers.
- 2021Subspace Adversarial Trainingcited by 41
- 2022Recycling Model Updates in Federated Learning: Are Gradient Subspaces Low-Rank?cited by 16
- 2024A Layer Selection Approach to Test Time Adaptationcited by 7
- 2022Robust Federated Learning against both Data Heterogeneity and Poisoning Attack via Aggregation Optimizationcited by 3
- 2026Distributional Spectral Diagnostics for Localizing Grokking Transitionscited by 2
- 2026Distributional Spectral Diagnostics for Localizing Grokking Transitions7 May 2026
- 2024A Layer Selection Approach to Test Time Adaptation4 Apr 2024
- 2022Robust Federated Learning against both Data Heterogeneity and Poisoning Attack via Aggregation Optimization10 Nov 2022
- 2022Recycling Model Updates in Federated Learning: Are Gradient Subspaces Low-Rank?1 Feb 2022
- 2021Subspace Adversarial Training24 Nov 2021