We present a method for computing nearly singular integrals that occur when single or double layer surface integrals, for harmonic potentials or Stokes flow, are evaluated at points nearby. Such values could be needed in solving an integral equation when one surface is close to another or to obtain values at grid points. We replace the singular kernel with a regularized version having a length parameter $\delta$ in order to control discretization error. Analysis near the singularity leads to an expression for the error due to regularization which has terms with unknown coefficients multiplying known quantities. By computing the integral with three choices of $\delta$ we can solve for an extrapolated value that has regularization error reduced to $O(\delta^5)$. In examples with $\delta/h$ constant and moderate resolution we observe total error about $O(h^5)$. For convergence as $h \to 0$ we can choose $\delta$ proportional to $h^q$ with $q < 1$ to ensure the discretization error is dominated by the regularization error. With $q = 4/5$ we find errors about $O(h^4)$. For harmonic potentials we extend the approach to a version with $O(\delta^7)$ regularization; it typically has smaller errors but the order of accuracy is less predictable.
Causal representation learning algorithms discover lower-dimensional representations of data that admit a decipherable interpretation of cause and effect; as achieving such interpretable representations is challenging, many causal learning algorithms utilize elements indicating prior information, such as (linear) structural causal models, interventional data, or weak supervision. Unfortunately, in exploratory causal representation learning, such elements and prior information may not be available or warranted. Alternatively, scientific datasets often have multiple modalities or physics-based constraints, and the use of such scientific, multimodal data has been shown to improve disentanglement in fully unsupervised settings. Consequently, we introduce a causal representation learning algorithm (causalPIMA) that can use multimodal data and known physics to discover important features with causal relationships. Our innovative algorithm utilizes a new differentiable parametrization to learn a directed acyclic graph (DAG) together with a latent space of a variational autoencoder in an end-to-end differentiable framework via a single, tractable evidence lower bound loss function. We place a Gaussian mixture prior on the latent space and identify each of the mixtures with an outcome of the DAG nodes; this novel identification enables feature discovery with causal relationships. Tested against a synthetic and a scientific dataset, our results demonstrate the capability of learning an interpretable causal structure while simultaneously discovering key features in a fully unsupervised setting.
The optimization of open-loop shallow geothermal systems, which includes both design and operational aspects, is an important research area aimed at improving their efficiency and sustainability and the effective management of groundwater as a shallow geothermal resource. This paper investigates various approaches to address optimization problems arising from these research and implementation questions about GWHP systems. The identified optimization approaches are thoroughly analyzed based on criteria such as computational cost and applicability. Moreover, a novel classification scheme is introduced that categorizes the approaches according to the types of groundwater simulation model and the optimization algorithm used. Simulation models are divided into two types: numerical and simplified (analytical or data-driven) models, while optimization algorithms are divided into gradient-based and derivative-free algorithms. Finally, a comprehensive review of existing approaches in the literature is provided, highlighting their strengths and limitations and offering recommendations for both the use of existing approaches and the development of new, improved ones in this field.
This paper introduces a new mathematical and numerical framework for surface analysis derived from the general setting of elastic Riemannian metrics on shape spaces. Traditionally, those metrics are defined over the infinite dimensional manifold of immersed surfaces and satisfy specific invariance properties enabling the comparison of surfaces modulo shape preserving transformations such as reparametrizations. The specificity of the approach we develop is to restrict the space of allowable transformations to predefined finite dimensional bases of deformation fields. These are estimated in a data-driven way so as to emulate specific types of surface transformations observed in a training set. The use of such bases allows to simplify the representation of the corresponding shape space to a finite dimensional latent space. However, in sharp contrast with methods involving e.g. mesh autoencoders, the latent space is here equipped with a non-Euclidean Riemannian metric precisely inherited from the family of aforementioned elastic metrics. We demonstrate how this basis restricted model can be then effectively implemented to perform a variety of tasks on surface meshes which, importantly, does not assume these to be pre-registered (i.e. with given point correspondences) or to even have a consistent mesh structure. We specifically validate our approach on human body shape and pose data as well as human face scans, and show how it generally outperforms state-of-the-art methods on problems such as shape registration, interpolation, motion transfer or random pose generation.
We introduce a semi-explicit time-stepping scheme of second order for linear poroelasticity satisfying a weak coupling condition. Here, semi-explicit means that the system, which needs to be solved in each step, decouples and hence improves the computational efficiency. The construction and the convergence proof are based on the connection to a differential equation with two time delays, namely one and two times the step size. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical results and indicate the applicability to higher-order schemes.
Scale-free dynamics, formalized by selfsimilarity, provides a versatile paradigm massively and ubiquitously used to model temporal dynamics in real-world data. However, its practical use has mostly remained univariate so far. By contrast, modern applications often demand multivariate data analysis. Accordingly, models for multivariate selfsimilarity were recently proposed. Nevertheless, they have remained rarely used in practice because of a lack of available robust estimation procedures for the vector of selfsimilarity parameters. Building upon recent mathematical developments, the present work puts forth an efficient estimation procedure based on the theoretical study of the multiscale eigenstructure of the wavelet spectrum of multivariate selfsimilar processes. The estimation performance is studied theoretically in the asymptotic limits of large scale and sample sizes, and computationally for finite-size samples. As a practical outcome, a fully operational and documented multivariate signal processing estimation toolbox is made freely available and is ready for practical use on real-world data. Its potential benefits are illustrated in epileptic seizure prediction from multi-channel EEG data.
Imaging through perturbed multimode fibres based on deep learning has been widely researched. However, existing methods mainly use target-speckle pairs in different configurations. It is challenging to reconstruct targets without trained networks. In this paper, we propose a physics-assisted, unsupervised, learning-based fibre imaging scheme. The role of the physical prior is to simplify the mapping relationship between the speckle pattern and the target image, thereby reducing the computational complexity. The unsupervised network learns target features according to the optimized direction provided by the physical prior. Therefore, the reconstruction process of the online learning only requires a few speckle patterns and unpaired targets. The proposed scheme also increases the generalization ability of the learning-based method in perturbed multimode fibres. Our scheme has the potential to extend the application of multimode fibre imaging.
Quantum computing has recently emerged as a transformative technology. Yet, its promised advantages rely on efficiently translating quantum operations into viable physical realizations. In this work, we use generative machine learning models, specifically denoising diffusion models (DMs), to facilitate this transformation. Leveraging text-conditioning, we steer the model to produce desired quantum operations within gate-based quantum circuits. Notably, DMs allow to sidestep during training the exponential overhead inherent in the classical simulation of quantum dynamics -- a consistent bottleneck in preceding ML techniques. We demonstrate the model's capabilities across two tasks: entanglement generation and unitary compilation. The model excels at generating new circuits and supports typical DM extensions such as masking and editing to, for instance, align the circuit generation to the constraints of the targeted quantum device. Given their flexibility and generalization abilities, we envision DMs as pivotal in quantum circuit synthesis, enhancing both practical applications but also insights into theoretical quantum computation.
The flexoelectric effect, coupling polarization and strain gradient as well as strain and electric field gradients, is universal to dielectrics, but, as compared to piezoelectricity, it is more difficult to harness as it requires field gradients and it is a small-scale effect. These drawbacks can be overcome by suitably designing metamaterials made of a non-piezoelectric base material but exhibiting apparent piezoelectricity. We develop a theoretical and computational framework to perform topology optimization of the representative volume element of such metamaterials by accurately modeling the governing equations of flexoelectricity using a Cartesian B-spline method, describing geometry with a level set, and resorting to genetic algorithms for optimization. We consider a multi-objective optimization problem where area fraction competes with four fundamental piezoelectric functionalities (stress/strain sensor/ actuator). We computationally obtain Pareto fronts, and discuss the different geometries depending on the apparent piezoelectric coefficient being optimized. In general, we find competitive estimations of apparent piezoelectricity as compared to reference materials such as quartz and PZT ceramics. This opens the possibility to design devices for sensing, actuation and energy harvesting from a much wider, cheaper and effective class of materials.
Surface parameterization plays a fundamental role in many science and engineering problems. In particular, as genus-0 closed surfaces are topologically equivalent to a sphere, many spherical parameterization methods have been developed over the past few decades. However, in practice, mapping a genus-0 closed surface onto a sphere may result in a large distortion due to their geometric difference. In this work, we propose a new framework for computing ellipsoidal conformal and quasi-conformal parameterizations of genus-0 closed surfaces, in which the target parameter domain is an ellipsoid instead of a sphere. By combining simple conformal transformations with different types of quasi-conformal mappings, we can easily achieve a large variety of ellipsoidal parameterizations with their bijectivity guaranteed by quasi-conformal theory. Numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.
In prediction settings where data are collected over time, it is often of interest to understand both the importance of variables for predicting the response at each time point and the importance summarized over the time series. Building on recent advances in estimation and inference for variable importance measures, we define summaries of variable importance trajectories. These measures can be estimated and the same approaches for inference can be applied regardless of the choice of the algorithm(s) used to estimate the prediction function. We propose a nonparametric efficient estimation and inference procedure as well as a null hypothesis testing procedure that are valid even when complex machine learning tools are used for prediction. Through simulations, we demonstrate that our proposed procedures have good operating characteristics, and we illustrate their use by investigating the longitudinal importance of risk factors for suicide attempt.