Learning functions through Diffusion Maps

Abstract: We propose a data-driven method for approximating real-valued functions on smooth manifolds, building on the Diffusion Maps framework under the manifold hypothesis. Given pointwise evaluations of a function, the method constructs a smooth extension to the ambient space by exploiting diffusion geometry and its connection to the heat equation and the Laplace-Beltrami operator. To address the computational challenges of high-dimensional data, we introduce a dimensionality reduction strategy based on the low-rank structure of the distance matrix, revealed via singular value decomposition (SVD). In addition, we develop an online updating mechanism that enables efficient incorporation of new data, thereby improving scalability and reducing computational cost. Numerical experiments, including applications to sparse CT reconstruction, demonstrate that the proposed methodology outperforms classical feedforward neural networks and interpolation methods in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.