A morphology-adaptive random feature method for inverse source problem of the Helmholtz equation

Abstract The inverse source problem for the Helmholtz equation poses significant challenges, particularly when sources exhibit complex or discontinuous geometries. Traditional numerical methods suffer from prohibitive computational costs, while machine learning-based approaches such as physics-informed neural networks (PINN) and the random feature method (RFM), though computationally efficient for inverse problems, lack the intrinsic machinery to handle the sharp morphological features in such singular problems, leading to inaccurate solutions. To address this issue, we propose the morphology-adaptive random feature method (MA-RFM), a novel two-stage framework designed to adaptively identify critical regions and incorporate morphology-aware activation functions to tackle the multi-frequency inverse source problem with complex geometry. Our framework recasts the ill-posed inverse problem into a well-posed, strictly convex optimization problem by reformulating the governing Helmholtz equation as a Tikhonov-regularized integral equation via its fundamental solution. In the first stage, the integral adaptive RFM (IA-RFM) employs an adaptive algorithm to rapidly localize the source support, thereby reducing computational overhead and accelerating convergence. In the second stage, posterior geometric information is progressively integrated into the solver via hybrid basis functions, enabling a precise reconstruction of complex morphologies. The MA-RFM extends the capabilities of RFM to handle partial differential equations with singular solutions while preserving its mesh-free efficiency. We demonstrate the superior performance of our approach on ample challenging 2-D and 3-D benchmark problems, including scenarios with limited and noisy measurements, highlighting its robustness and accuracy in reconstructing intricate and discontinuous sources.