Determination of Particle-Size Distributions from Light-Scattering Measurement Using Constrained Gaussian Process Regression

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Main Authors: Seyedheydari, Fahime, Nasiri, Mahdi, Mińkowski, Marcin, Särkkä, Simo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Seyedheydari, Fahime
Nasiri, Mahdi
Mińkowski, Marcin
Särkkä, Simo
author_facet Seyedheydari, Fahime
Nasiri, Mahdi
Mińkowski, Marcin
Särkkä, Simo
contents In this work, we propose a novel methodology for robustly estimating particle size distributions from optical scattering measurements using constrained Gaussian process regression. The estimation of particle size distributions is commonly formulated as a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind, an ill-posed inverse problem characterized by instability due to measurement noise and limited data. To address this, we use a Gaussian process prior to regularize the solution and integrate a normalization constraint into the Gaussian process via two approaches: by constraining the Gaussian process using a pseudo-measurement and by using Lagrange multipliers in the equivalent optimization problem. To improve computational efficiency, we employ a spectral expansion of the covariance kernel using eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator, resulting in a computationally tractable low-rank representation without sacrificing accuracy. Additionally, we investigate two complementary strategies for hyperparameter estimation: a data-driven approach based on maximizing the unconstrained log marginal likelihood, and an alternative approach where the physical constraints are taken into account. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed constrained Gaussian process regression framework accurately reconstructs particle size distributions, producing numerically stable, smooth, and physically interpretable results. This methodology provides a principled and efficient solution for addressing inverse scattering problems and related ill-posed integral equations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_03736
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Determination of Particle-Size Distributions from Light-Scattering Measurement Using Constrained Gaussian Process Regression
Seyedheydari, Fahime
Nasiri, Mahdi
Mińkowski, Marcin
Särkkä, Simo
Machine Learning
Optics
Methodology
In this work, we propose a novel methodology for robustly estimating particle size distributions from optical scattering measurements using constrained Gaussian process regression. The estimation of particle size distributions is commonly formulated as a Fredholm integral equation of the first kind, an ill-posed inverse problem characterized by instability due to measurement noise and limited data. To address this, we use a Gaussian process prior to regularize the solution and integrate a normalization constraint into the Gaussian process via two approaches: by constraining the Gaussian process using a pseudo-measurement and by using Lagrange multipliers in the equivalent optimization problem. To improve computational efficiency, we employ a spectral expansion of the covariance kernel using eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator, resulting in a computationally tractable low-rank representation without sacrificing accuracy. Additionally, we investigate two complementary strategies for hyperparameter estimation: a data-driven approach based on maximizing the unconstrained log marginal likelihood, and an alternative approach where the physical constraints are taken into account. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed constrained Gaussian process regression framework accurately reconstructs particle size distributions, producing numerically stable, smooth, and physically interpretable results. This methodology provides a principled and efficient solution for addressing inverse scattering problems and related ill-posed integral equations.
title Determination of Particle-Size Distributions from Light-Scattering Measurement Using Constrained Gaussian Process Regression
topic Machine Learning
Optics
Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.03736