Year: 2024
Type: preprint
Abstract: The Euler Characteristic Transform (ECT) is an efficiently-computable geometrical-topological invariant that characterizes the global shape of data. In this paper, we introduce the Local Euler Characteristic Transform ($\ell$-ECT), a novel extension of the ECT particularly designed to enhance expressivity and interpretability in graph representation learning. Unlike traditional Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), which may lose critical local details through aggregation, the $\ell$-ECT provides a lossless representation of local neighborhoods. This approach addresses key limitations in GNNs by preserving nuanced local structures while maintaining global interpretability. Moreover, we construct a rotation-invariant metric based on $\ell$-ECTs for spatial alignment of data spaces. Our method exhibits superior performance compared to standard GNNs on a variety of node-classification tasks, while also offering theoretical guarantees that demonstrate its effectiveness.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: von Rohrscheidt, Julius, Rieck, Bastian
Language: English
Subfield: Computational Theory and Mathematics
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4403884130