Equivariant Networks Trade Symmetry for 1.28× Less Data, Study Shows
The authors experimentally measure how architectural symmetry (equivariance) reduces sample complexity. On a controlled C_n‑symmetric task they find a symmetry‑data exchange rate β≈1.28, close to the theoretical value of 1, and show that wrong‑group constraints hurt performance while augmentation with orbit averaging matches equivariant models.