Error dynamics of mini-batch gradient descent with random reshuffling for least squares regression

Abstract: We study the discrete dynamics of mini-batch gradient descent with random reshuffling for least squares regression. We show that the training and generalization errors depend on a sample cross-covariance matrix $Z$ between the original features $X$ and a set of new features $\widetilde{X}$ in which each feature is modified by the mini-batches that appear before it during the learning process in an averaged way. Using this representation, we establish that the dynamics of mini-batch and full-batch gradient descent agree up to leading order with respect to the step size using the linear scaling rule. However, mini-batch gradient descent with random reshuffling exhibits a subtle dependence on the step size that a gradient flow analysis cannot detect, such as converging to a limit that depends on the step size. By comparing $Z$, a non-commutative polynomial of random matrices, with the sample covariance matrix of $X$ asymptotically, we demonstrate that batching affects the dynamics by resulting in a form of shrinkage on the spectrum.