PDSL: Propagation Dynamics Aware Framework for Source Localization

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Yansong, Chai, Qisen, Lin, Longlong, Jia, Tao
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Wang, Yansong
Chai, Qisen
Lin, Longlong
Jia, Tao
author_facet Wang, Yansong
Chai, Qisen
Lin, Longlong
Jia, Tao
contents Source localization is a representative inverse inference task in information propagation, aiming to identify the source node or node set that triggers the propagation results based on the observed information. A primary challenge is quantifying the inherent uncertainty between observed outcomes and potential sources. Although deep generative models have partially mitigated this issue, most existing approaches primarily focus on uncertainty induced by network topology, attempting to learn a direct mapping from propagation outcomes to sources based on network structure, while overlooking the additional uncertainty stemming from the highly stochastic nature of the propagation process. To address this limitation, we propose a Propagation Dynamics aware framework for Source Localization (PDSL), a novel method that integrates a deep generative model with propagation dynamics to approximate the source distribution and explicitly mitigate uncertainty arising from diffusion stochasticity. Moreover, we employ Graph Neural Ordinary Differential Equations to model the continuous dynamics of diffusion processes without relying on a predefined diffusion mechanism. Additionally, a matching mechanism is designed to extract relevant data blocks that enhance source generation reliability. Comprehensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world diffusion datasets demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed framework across diverse application scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_03550
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle PDSL: Propagation Dynamics Aware Framework for Source Localization
Wang, Yansong
Chai, Qisen
Lin, Longlong
Jia, Tao
Social and Information Networks
Source localization is a representative inverse inference task in information propagation, aiming to identify the source node or node set that triggers the propagation results based on the observed information. A primary challenge is quantifying the inherent uncertainty between observed outcomes and potential sources. Although deep generative models have partially mitigated this issue, most existing approaches primarily focus on uncertainty induced by network topology, attempting to learn a direct mapping from propagation outcomes to sources based on network structure, while overlooking the additional uncertainty stemming from the highly stochastic nature of the propagation process. To address this limitation, we propose a Propagation Dynamics aware framework for Source Localization (PDSL), a novel method that integrates a deep generative model with propagation dynamics to approximate the source distribution and explicitly mitigate uncertainty arising from diffusion stochasticity. Moreover, we employ Graph Neural Ordinary Differential Equations to model the continuous dynamics of diffusion processes without relying on a predefined diffusion mechanism. Additionally, a matching mechanism is designed to extract relevant data blocks that enhance source generation reliability. Comprehensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world diffusion datasets demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed framework across diverse application scenarios.
title PDSL: Propagation Dynamics Aware Framework for Source Localization
topic Social and Information Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.03550