Which SVM kernel is defined by K(x, x′) = exp(−γ‖x − x′‖²)?
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RBF kernel
The Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel is the most popular choice for SVMs because it can map data into an infinite-dimensional space to find non-linear boundaries. It measures the similarity between two points based on their distance, with the influence of a point decreasing exponentially as you move further away. A helpful way to remember it is that the 'radial' part refers to its circular, symmetric influence around each data point.
Also asked as:
- Which SVM kernel computes similarity using an exponential function of the squared distance between two data points?