Pseudo-differential integral autoencoder network for inverse PDE operators

Abstract Partial differential equations (PDEs) play a foundational role in modeling physical phenomena. This study addresses the challenging task of determining variable coefficients within PDEs from measurement data. We introduce a novel neural network, ‘pseudo-differential IAEnet’ (pd-IAEnet), which draws inspiration from pseudo-differential operators. pd-IAEnet achieves significantly enhanced computational speed and accuracy with fewer parameters compared to conventional models. Extensive benchmark evaluations are conducted across a range of inverse problems, including electrical impedance tomography, optical tomography, and seismic imaging, consistently demonstrating pd-IAEnet’s superior accuracy. Notably, pd-IAEnet exhibits robustness in the presence of measurement noise, a critical characteristic for real-world applications. An exceptional feature is its discretization invariance, enabling effective training on data from diverse discretization schemes while maintaining accuracy on different meshes. In summary, pd-IAEnet offers a potent and efficient solution for addressing inverse PDE problems, contributing to improved computational efficiency, robustness, and adaptability to a wide array of data sources.