Checkable conditions ensure reliable training for physics informed neural networks
Checkable NTK Positivity and Finite-Width Gradient Descent for Scalar- and Vector-Valued PINNs with Strong-Form, Weak-Form, and Nonlocal Linear Constraints
Summary
Physics informed neural networks (PINNs) are used to solve physics problems by training artificial neural networks with physical rules as constraints. This paper provides a way to check before training whether the neural network's design will learn well by examining a mathematical kernel called the neural tangent kernel (NTK). The authors show that if certain conditions are met, gradient descent training will reliably reduce errors even when the network is not infinitely large. This helps ensure the network can accurately model physics under various kinds of constraints such as differential equations, boundary conditions, or integral observations.
What this means in practice
- •For engineering simulation teams: Provide a pre-training test to certify that PINNs will train reliably on physical problems with various constraints to reduce tuning time and errors.
- •For software developers for scientific computing: Implement automated certification of neural network designs for physics-based machine learning models to ensure stable gradient descent convergence in finite-width PINNs.