mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Student-t processes as infinite-width limits of posterior Bayesian neural networks

arXiv 2502.04247 ↗First posted 6 Feb 2025stat.ML cs.LG math.PRcited by 3

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Abstract (arXiv)

The asymptotic properties of Bayesian Neural Networks (BNNs) have been extensively studied, particularly regarding their approximations by Gaussian processes in the infinite-width limit. We extend these results by showing that posterior BNNs can be approximated by Student-t processes, which offer greater flexibility in modeling uncertainty. Specifically, we show that, if the parameters of a BNN follow a Gaussian prior distribution, and the variance of both the last hidden layer and the Gaussian likelihood function follows an Inverse-Gamma prior distribution, then the resulting posterior BNN converges to a Student-t process in the infinite-width limit. Our proof leverages the Wasserstein metric to establish control over the convergence rate of the Student-t process approximation.

Key facts. Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 14 of its 23 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 6 Feb 2025.

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14 of 23 references.

References · 14

  1. 2019PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Librarycited by 20,160
  2. 2017Deep Neural Networks as Gaussian Processescited by 617
  3. 2015Weight Uncertainty in Neural Networkscited by 554
  4. 2018Pyro: Deep Universal Probabilistic Programmingcited by 379
  5. 2018Gaussian Process Behaviour in Wide Deep Neural Networkscited by 314
  6. 2021What Are Bayesian Neural Network Posteriors Really Like?cited by 307
  7. 2018Bayesian Deep Convolutional Networks with Many Channels are Gaussian Processescited by 164
  8. 2019Tensor Programs I: Wide Feedforward or Recurrent Neural Networks of Any Architecture are Gaussian Processescited by 148
  9. 2014Student-t Processes as Alternatives to Gaussian Processescited by 45
  10. 2020Exact posterior distributions of wide Bayesian neural networkscited by 29
  11. 2022Quantitative Gaussian Approximation of Randomly Initialized Deep Neural Networkscited by 24
  12. 2023Quantitative CLTs in Deep Neural Networkscited by 19
2 more
  1. 2023Wide Deep Neural Networks with Gaussian Weights are Very Close to Gaussian Processescited by 11
  2. 2018Upgrading from Gaussian Processes to Student's-T Processescited by 5

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