arXiv cs.LGOctober 7, 2026
Predicting kernel regression learning curves from only raw data statistics
Excerpt
arXiv:2510.14878v3 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We study kernel regression with common rotation-invariant kernels on real datasets including CIFAR-5m, SVHN, and ImageNet. We give a theoretical framework that predicts learning curves (test risk vs. sample size) from only two measurements: the empirical data covariance matrix and an empirical polynomial decomposition of the target function $f_*$. The key new idea is an analytical approximation of a kernel's eigenvalues and eigenfunctions with