Fourier Multi-Component and Multi-Layer Neural Networks: Unlocking High-Frequency Potential

The two most critical ingredients of a neural network are its structure and the activation function employed, and more importantly, the proper alignment of these two that is conducive to the effective representation and learning in practice. In this work, we introduce a surprisingly effective synergy, termed the Fourier Multi-Component and Multi-Layer Neural Network (FMMNN), and demonstrate its surprising adaptability and efficiency in capturing high-frequency components. First, we theoretically establish that FMMNNs have exponential expressive power in terms of approximation capacity. Next, we analyze the optimization landscape of FMMNNs and show that it is significantly more favorable compared to fully connected neural networks. Finally, systematic and extensive numerical experiments validate our findings, demonstrating that FMMNNs consistently achieve superior accuracy and efficiency across various tasks, particularly impressive when high-frequency components are present.