English

Analysis of singular subspaces under random perturbations

Statistics Theory 2026-02-10 v3 Numerical Analysis Numerical Analysis Probability Machine Learning Statistics Theory

Abstract

We present a comprehensive analysis of singular vector and singular subspace perturbations in the signal-plus-noise matrix model with random Gaussian noise. Assuming a low-rank signal matrix, we extend the Davis-Kahan-Wedin theorem in a fully generalized manner, applicable to any unitarily invariant matrix norm, building on previous results by O'Rourke, Vu, and the author. Our analysis provides fine-grained insights, including \ell_\infty bounds for singular vectors, 2,\ell_{2, \infty} bounds for singular subspaces, and results for linear and bilinear functions of singular vectors. Additionally, we derive 2,\ell_{2,\infty} bounds on perturbed singular vectors, taking into account the weighting by their corresponding singular values. Finally, we explore practical implications of these results in the Gaussian mixture model and the submatrix localization problem.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2403.09170,
  title  = {Analysis of singular subspaces under random perturbations},
  author = {Ke Wang},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.09170},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

Final version; accepted for publication in the Annals of Statistics. The Supplementary Material is appended to the end of the main document for convenience

R2 v1 2026-06-28T15:19:44.418Z