Sum-of-norms regularized nonnegative matrix factorization
Sum-of-norms regularized nonnegative matrix factorization
When applying nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), the rank parameter is generally unknown. This rank, called the nonnegative rank, is usually estimated heuristically since computing its exact value is NP-hard. In this work, we propose an approximation method to estimate the rank on the fly while solving NMF. We use the sum-of-norm (SON), a group-lasso structure that encourages pairwise similarity, to reduce the rank of a factor matrix when the initial rank is overestimated. On various data sets, SON-NMF can reveal the correct nonnegative rank of the data without prior knowledge or parameter tuning. SON-NMF is a nonconvex, nonsmooth, nonseparable, and nonproximable problem, making it nontrivial to solve. First, since rank estimation in NMF is NP-hard, the proposed approach does not benefit from lower computational complexity. Using a graph-theoretic argument, we prove that the complexity of SON NMF is essentially irreducible. Second, the per iteration cost of algorithms for SON-NMF can be high. This motivates us to propose a first-order BCD algorithm that approximately solves SON-NMF with low per iteration cost via the proximal average operator. SON-NMF exhibits favorable features for applications. Besides the ability to automatically estimate the rank from data, SON-NMF can handle rank-deficient data matrices and detect weak components with little energy. Furthermore, in hyperspectral imaging, SON-NMF naturally addresses the issue of spectral variability.
228-255
Ang, Andersen
ed509ecd-39a3-4887-a709-339fdaded867
Hamed, Waqas Bin
4f8a8f76-daa8-4bcf-9cde-cb80470e811a
De Sterck, Hans
2ed04478-7382-446f-93a7-6ce8462049eb
20 January 2026
Ang, Andersen
ed509ecd-39a3-4887-a709-339fdaded867
Hamed, Waqas Bin
4f8a8f76-daa8-4bcf-9cde-cb80470e811a
De Sterck, Hans
2ed04478-7382-446f-93a7-6ce8462049eb
Ang, Andersen, Hamed, Waqas Bin and De Sterck, Hans
(2026)
Sum-of-norms regularized nonnegative matrix factorization.
Neural Computation, 38 (2), .
(doi:10.1162/NECO.a.1482).
Abstract
When applying nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), the rank parameter is generally unknown. This rank, called the nonnegative rank, is usually estimated heuristically since computing its exact value is NP-hard. In this work, we propose an approximation method to estimate the rank on the fly while solving NMF. We use the sum-of-norm (SON), a group-lasso structure that encourages pairwise similarity, to reduce the rank of a factor matrix when the initial rank is overestimated. On various data sets, SON-NMF can reveal the correct nonnegative rank of the data without prior knowledge or parameter tuning. SON-NMF is a nonconvex, nonsmooth, nonseparable, and nonproximable problem, making it nontrivial to solve. First, since rank estimation in NMF is NP-hard, the proposed approach does not benefit from lower computational complexity. Using a graph-theoretic argument, we prove that the complexity of SON NMF is essentially irreducible. Second, the per iteration cost of algorithms for SON-NMF can be high. This motivates us to propose a first-order BCD algorithm that approximately solves SON-NMF with low per iteration cost via the proximal average operator. SON-NMF exhibits favorable features for applications. Besides the ability to automatically estimate the rank from data, SON-NMF can handle rank-deficient data matrices and detect weak components with little energy. Furthermore, in hyperspectral imaging, SON-NMF naturally addresses the issue of spectral variability.
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arXiv file (accepted version before journal editing the format)
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Accepted/In Press date: 19 September 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 January 2026
Published date: 20 January 2026
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 508606
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508606
ISSN: 1530-888X
PURE UUID: 5817cd94-df63-4355-a4ef-3687e2b05956
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Date deposited: 28 Jan 2026 17:34
Last modified: 04 Feb 2026 03:07
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Author:
Andersen Ang
Author:
Waqas Bin Hamed
Author:
Hans De Sterck
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