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Main Authors: Zhang, Xifeng, Zhao, Jin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.25509
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author Zhang, Xifeng
Zhao, Jin
author_facet Zhang, Xifeng
Zhao, Jin
contents Reconstructing PDE solutions from sparse observations is a core challenge in scientific computing. We present FM4PDE, a flow-matching generative framework that learns the joint distribution of PDE coefficients (or initial states) and solutions (or final states), enabling both forward simulation and inverse recovery with limited paired data. At inference, sampling is guided by a composite loss that enforces agreement with sparse measurements and reduces the PDE residual; we support deterministic, stochastic, and hybrid samplers. We provide error guarantees for these guided procedures. For the deterministic optimizer, a coercivity condition ensures trajectory boundedness and a phase-wise contraction yields logarithmic complexity in the target accuracy. For the stochastic sampler, we introduce adaptive guidance and assume dissipativity of the velocity field to obtain uniform moment bounds independent of the noise-floor parameter. This leads to polynomial-time error bounds, and a matching lower bound shows constant guidance induces an unavoidable positive bias, motivating adaptivity. A hybrid deterministic-stochastic analysis is also provided. Experiments on static and time-dependent benchmark PDEs demonstrate competitive accuracy and faster inference than diffusion-based generative models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_25509
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Guided Flow Matching for Forward and Inverse PDE Problems with Sparse Observations: Algorithm and Theory
Zhang, Xifeng
Zhao, Jin
Machine Learning
65M32, 68T07, 35R30
Reconstructing PDE solutions from sparse observations is a core challenge in scientific computing. We present FM4PDE, a flow-matching generative framework that learns the joint distribution of PDE coefficients (or initial states) and solutions (or final states), enabling both forward simulation and inverse recovery with limited paired data. At inference, sampling is guided by a composite loss that enforces agreement with sparse measurements and reduces the PDE residual; we support deterministic, stochastic, and hybrid samplers. We provide error guarantees for these guided procedures. For the deterministic optimizer, a coercivity condition ensures trajectory boundedness and a phase-wise contraction yields logarithmic complexity in the target accuracy. For the stochastic sampler, we introduce adaptive guidance and assume dissipativity of the velocity field to obtain uniform moment bounds independent of the noise-floor parameter. This leads to polynomial-time error bounds, and a matching lower bound shows constant guidance induces an unavoidable positive bias, motivating adaptivity. A hybrid deterministic-stochastic analysis is also provided. Experiments on static and time-dependent benchmark PDEs demonstrate competitive accuracy and faster inference than diffusion-based generative models.
title Guided Flow Matching for Forward and Inverse PDE Problems with Sparse Observations: Algorithm and Theory
topic Machine Learning
65M32, 68T07, 35R30
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.25509