A neural operator framework for data-driven discovery of stability and receptivity in physical systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Chengyun, Chen, Liwei, Thuerey, Nils
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Wang, Chengyun
Chen, Liwei
Thuerey, Nils
author_facet Wang, Chengyun
Chen, Liwei
Thuerey, Nils
contents Understanding how complex systems respond to perturbations, such as whether they will remain stable or what their most sensitive patterns are, is a fundamental challenge across science and engineering. Traditional stability and receptivity (resolvent) analyses are powerful but rely on known equations and linearization, limiting their use in nonlinear or poorly modeled systems. Here, we introduce a data-driven framework that automatically identifies stability properties and optimal forcing responses from observation data alone, without requiring governing equations. By training a neural network as a dynamics emulator and using automatic differentiation to extract its Jacobian, we can compute eigenmodes and resolvent modes directly from data. We demonstrate the method on both canonical chaotic models and high-dimensional fluid flows, successfully identifying dominant instability modes and input-output structures even in strongly nonlinear regimes. By leveraging a neural network-based emulator, we readily obtain a nonlinear representation of system dynamics while additionally retrieving intricate dynamical patterns that were previously difficult to resolve. This equation-free methodology establishes a broadly applicable tool for analyzing complex, high-dimensional datasets, with immediate relevance to grand challenges in fields such as climate science, neuroscience, and fluid engineering.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_19465
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A neural operator framework for data-driven discovery of stability and receptivity in physical systems
Wang, Chengyun
Chen, Liwei
Thuerey, Nils
Fluid Dynamics
Artificial Intelligence
Understanding how complex systems respond to perturbations, such as whether they will remain stable or what their most sensitive patterns are, is a fundamental challenge across science and engineering. Traditional stability and receptivity (resolvent) analyses are powerful but rely on known equations and linearization, limiting their use in nonlinear or poorly modeled systems. Here, we introduce a data-driven framework that automatically identifies stability properties and optimal forcing responses from observation data alone, without requiring governing equations. By training a neural network as a dynamics emulator and using automatic differentiation to extract its Jacobian, we can compute eigenmodes and resolvent modes directly from data. We demonstrate the method on both canonical chaotic models and high-dimensional fluid flows, successfully identifying dominant instability modes and input-output structures even in strongly nonlinear regimes. By leveraging a neural network-based emulator, we readily obtain a nonlinear representation of system dynamics while additionally retrieving intricate dynamical patterns that were previously difficult to resolve. This equation-free methodology establishes a broadly applicable tool for analyzing complex, high-dimensional datasets, with immediate relevance to grand challenges in fields such as climate science, neuroscience, and fluid engineering.
title A neural operator framework for data-driven discovery of stability and receptivity in physical systems
topic Fluid Dynamics
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19465