# SVD-PINNs: Transfer Learning of Physics-Informed Neural Networks via Singular Value Decomposition

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.08760 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.08760/

## Key facts

- Cited by 13 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 12 of its 28 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 16 Nov 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Adam: A Method for Stochastic Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6980/) (2014)
- [DeepONet: Learning nonlinear operators for identifying differential equations based on the universal approximation theorem of operators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.03193/) (2019)
- [How transferable are features in deep neural networks?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1411.1792/) (2014)
- [DGM: A deep learning algorithm for solving partial differential equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.07469/) (2017)
- [When and why PINNs fail to train: A neural tangent kernel perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.14527/) (2020)
- [Quantifying total uncertainty in physics-informed neural networks for solving forward and inverse stochastic problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.08327/) (2018)
- [Adversarial Uncertainty Quantification in Physics-Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.04026/) (2018)
- [Algorithms for Solving High Dimensional PDEs: From Nonlinear Monte Carlo to Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.13333/) (2020)
- [Grammar as a Foreign Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.7449/) (2014)
- [Learning in Modal Space: Solving Time-Dependent Stochastic PDEs Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.01205/) (2019)
- [One-Shot Transfer Learning of Physics-Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.11286/) (2021)
- [Can Transfer Neuroevolution Tractably Solve Your Differential Equations?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.01998/) (2021)

## Built on by (most cited first, 13 of 13)

- [Towards Foundation Models for Scientific Machine Learning: Characterizing Scaling and Transfer Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.00258/) (2023)
- [Hypernetwork-based Meta-Learning for Low-Rank Physics-Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.09528/) (2023)
- [Parameterized Physics-informed Neural Networks for Parameterized PDEs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.09446/) (2024)
- [PDE Generalization of In-Context Operator Networks: A Study on 1D Scalar Nonlinear Conservation Laws](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07364/) (2024)
- [Transfer Learning in Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Full Fine-Tuning, Lightweight Fine-Tuning, and Low-Rank Adaptation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.00782/) (2025)
- [Mixed formulation of physics-informed neural networks for thermo-mechanically coupled systems and heterogeneous domains](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04954/) (2023)
- [Evolutionary Optimization of Physics-Informed Neural Networks: Evo-PINN Frontiers and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.06572/) (2025)
- [Adaptive Physics-informed Neural Networks: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.18181/) (2025)
- [Simulation and Prediction of Countercurrent Spontaneous Imbibition at Early and Late Times Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.05554/) (2023)
- [Fourier analysis of the physics of transfer learning for data-driven subgrid-scale models of ocean turbulence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.15487/) (2025)
- [Prediction of acoustic field in 1-D uniform duct with varying mean flow and temperature using neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.22370/) (2025)
- [IP-Basis PINNs: Efficient Multi-Query Inverse Parameter Estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.07245/) (2025)
- [Parameterized Representations via Implicit Stochastic Modulation for High-Dimensional and High-Order Neural PDE Solvers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.22150/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) have attracted significant attention for solving partial differential equations (PDEs) in recent years because they alleviate the curse of dimensionality that appears in traditional methods. However, the most disadvantage of PINNs is that one neural network corresponds to one PDE. In practice, we usually need to solve a class of PDEs, not just one. With the explosive growth of deep learning, many useful techniques in general deep learning tasks are also suitable for PINNs. Transfer learning methods may reduce the cost for PINNs in solving a class of PDEs. In this paper, we proposed a transfer learning method of PINNs via keeping singular vectors and optimizing singular values (namely SVD-PINNs). Numerical experiments on high dimensional PDEs (10-d linear parabolic equations and 10-d Allen-Cahn equations) show that SVD-PINNs work for solving a class of PDEs with different but close right-hand-side functions.