Sobolev Approximation of Deep ReLU Networks in Log-Barron Space

Abstract

Universal approximation theorems show that neural networks can approximate any continuous function; however, the number of parameters may grow exponentially with the ambient dimension, so these results do not fully explain the practical success of deep models on high-dimensional data. Barron space theory addresses this: if a target function belongs to a Barron space, a two-layer network with $n$ parameters achieves an $O(n^{-1/2})$ approximation error in $L^2$. Yet classical Barron spaces $\mathscr{B}^{s+1}$ still require stronger regularity than Sobolev spaces $H^s$, and existing depth-sensitive results often assume constraints such as $sL \le 1/2$. In this paper, we introduce a log-weighted Barron space $\mathscr{B}^{\log}$, which requires a strictly weaker assumption than $\mathscr{B}^s$ for any $s>0$. For this new function space, we first study embedding properties and carry out a statistical analysis via the Rademacher complexity. Then we prove that functions in $\mathscr{B}^{\log}$ can be approximated by deep ReLU networks with explicit depth dependence. We then define a family $\mathscr{B}^{s,\log}$, establish approximation bounds in the $H^1$ norm, and identify maximal depth scales under which these rates are preserved. Our results clarify how depth reduces regularity requirements for efficient representation, offering a more precise explanation for the performance of deep architectures beyond the classical Barron setting, and for their stable use in high-dimensional problems used today.