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Published as a conference paper at NeurIPS 2026

Decentralized Coupled Representation Learning

Zilin Li, Weiwei Xu, Xuchun Tong, Xuanbo Lu, Xuanqi Zhao, Ge Zhang

Abstract

The learning dynamics of decentralized coupled representation learning can be formulated as a non-autonomous stochastic dynamical system, yet the macroscopic behavior of the resulting system on continuous manifolds remains poorly understood. We establish three theoretical results for such coupled slow-fast dynamics. First, under a standard random geometric graph scaling regime, we prove that the infinitesimal generator of the discrete Markov process converges to the generator of an overdamped Langevin diffusion for every . Second, under timescale separation, the stochastic parameter dynamics converge to a deterministic averaged flow that admits a row-orthogonality Lyapunov function, controlling row-space degeneracy and ruling out parameter divergence. Third, under a spectral gap condition, the row space of the averaged parameter trajectory converges to the principal eigenspace of the induced covariance matrix. Together, these results give a stochastic-approximation limit theory for the coupled regime in which Markovian sampling and local subspace learning co-evolve, showing that memoryless local interactions can induce a stable and structured macroscopic limit.

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