Epi$^2$-Net: Advancing Epidemic Dynamics Forecasting with Physics-Inspired Neural Networks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sun, Rui, Gong, Chenghua, Gu, Tianjun, Zheng, Yuhao, Ding, Jie, Zhang, Juyuan, Pan, Liming, Lü, Linyuan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Sun, Rui
Gong, Chenghua
Gu, Tianjun
Zheng, Yuhao
Ding, Jie
Zhang, Juyuan
Pan, Liming
Lü, Linyuan
author_facet Sun, Rui
Gong, Chenghua
Gu, Tianjun
Zheng, Yuhao
Ding, Jie
Zhang, Juyuan
Pan, Liming
Lü, Linyuan
contents Advancing epidemic dynamics forecasting is vital for targeted interventions and safeguarding public health. Current approaches mainly fall into two categories: mechanism-based and data-driven models. Mechanism-based models are constrained by predefined compartmental structures and oversimplified system assumptions, limiting their ability to model complex real-world dynamics, while data-driven models focus solely on intrinsic data dependencies without physical or epidemiological constraints, risking biased or misleading representations. Although recent studies have attempted to integrate epidemiological knowledge into neural architectures, most of them fail to reconcile explicit physical priors with neural representations. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce Epi$^2$-Net, a Epidemic Forecasting Framework built upon Physics-Inspired Neural Networks. Specifically, we propose reconceptualizing epidemic transmission from the physical transport perspective, introducing the concept of neural epidemic transport. Further, we present a physic-inspired deep learning framework, and integrate physical constraints with neural modules to model spatio-temporal patterns of epidemic dynamics. Experiments on real-world datasets have demonstrated that Epi$^2$-Net outperforms state-of-the-art methods in epidemic forecasting, providing a promising solution for future epidemic containment. The code is available at: https://anonymous.4open.science/r/Epi-2-Net-48CE.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_02049
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Epi$^2$-Net: Advancing Epidemic Dynamics Forecasting with Physics-Inspired Neural Networks
Sun, Rui
Gong, Chenghua
Gu, Tianjun
Zheng, Yuhao
Ding, Jie
Zhang, Juyuan
Pan, Liming
Lü, Linyuan
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Advancing epidemic dynamics forecasting is vital for targeted interventions and safeguarding public health. Current approaches mainly fall into two categories: mechanism-based and data-driven models. Mechanism-based models are constrained by predefined compartmental structures and oversimplified system assumptions, limiting their ability to model complex real-world dynamics, while data-driven models focus solely on intrinsic data dependencies without physical or epidemiological constraints, risking biased or misleading representations. Although recent studies have attempted to integrate epidemiological knowledge into neural architectures, most of them fail to reconcile explicit physical priors with neural representations. To overcome these obstacles, we introduce Epi$^2$-Net, a Epidemic Forecasting Framework built upon Physics-Inspired Neural Networks. Specifically, we propose reconceptualizing epidemic transmission from the physical transport perspective, introducing the concept of neural epidemic transport. Further, we present a physic-inspired deep learning framework, and integrate physical constraints with neural modules to model spatio-temporal patterns of epidemic dynamics. Experiments on real-world datasets have demonstrated that Epi$^2$-Net outperforms state-of-the-art methods in epidemic forecasting, providing a promising solution for future epidemic containment. The code is available at: https://anonymous.4open.science/r/Epi-2-Net-48CE.
title Epi$^2$-Net: Advancing Epidemic Dynamics Forecasting with Physics-Inspired Neural Networks
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.02049