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Jiebao Sun

Publications and source records attributed to Jiebao Sun.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Distributed Time-Varying Optimization via Unbiased Extremum Seeking

This paper proposes a novel distributed optimization framework that addresses time-varying optimization problems without requiring explicit derivative information of the objective functions. Traditional distributed methods often rely on derivative computations, limiting their applicability when only real-time objective function measurements are available. Leveraging unbiased extremum seeking, we develop continuous-time algorithms that utilize local measurements and neighbor-shared data to collaboratively track time-varying optima. Key advancements include compatibility with directed communication graphs, customizable convergence rates (asymptotic, exponential, or prescribed-time), and the ability to handle dynamically evolving objectives. By integrating chirpy probing signals with time-varying frequencies, our unified framework achieves accelerated convergence while maintaining stability under mild assumptions. Theoretical guarantees are established through Lie bracket averaging and Lyapunov-based analysis, with linear matrix inequality conditions ensuring rigorous convergence. Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness of the algorithms.

math.OC

COFM: Consistent Optimal Transport Flow Matching via Partially Input Convex Neural Networks

Optimal transport (OT) provides a principled framework for learning mappings between probability distributions, and has found broad applications in generative modeling, inverse problems and scientific computing. Recently, flow matching methods have emerged as an efficient paradigm for learning continuous-time transport dynamics. However, existing OT-based flow matching methods often suffer from either high computational cost due to inner optimization or limited consistency. Moreover, it remains challenging to design neural architectures that can simultaneously guarantee convexity, stability, and efficient transport learning. In this paper, we propose a framework for consistent optimal transport flow matching. Specifically, we parameterize the transport potential using partially input convex neural networks (PICNN), and incorporate a Hamilton-Jacobi residual into the training objective to enforce dynamical consistency of the learned flow. This design enables a unified formulation that supports both one-step transport and multi-step ODE-based sampling, without requiring costly inner optimization. Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed method achieves competitive performance compared with existing OT-based and flow matching approaches, while maintaining favorable computational efficiency. In particular, under the D=256 benchmark, COFM achieves more than a 2x reduction in L^2-UVP compared with state-of-the-art (SOTA) models, while requiring approximately 9x less computational time. These results suggest that combining convex potential structures with HJ-based dynamical regularization provides an effective framework for scalable and geometrically consistent transport learning.

cs.LG

A Smooth Phase-Separation Model for Weak-Boundary Segmentation of Homogeneous Structures

Segmentation of adjacent structures with similar intensity distributions remains a challenging problem in image analysis, particularly when object boundaries are weak or ambiguous. Under such conditions, classical variational models may suffer from degenerated image-driven forces, leading to boundary leakage or undesired merging of neighboring regions. To address these limitations, we propose a smooth phase-separation variational model based on the Cahn--Hilliard equation for weak-boundary segmentation of homogeneous-appearance structures. The proposed framework integrates softmax-based region fitting with Cahn--Hilliard phase-field regularization to maintain interface discrimination under weak image-driven forces. We further introduce a mixed $L^2-H^{-1}$ gradient flow, which preserves higher-order interfacial regularization while allowing adaptive changes of phase masses, establish the continuous energy dissipation law, and prove the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions in the natural solution class. For numerical computation, we develop a stabilized scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) scheme that is linear, FFT-based, and satisfies a modified discrete energy dissipation law. Numerical experiments on synthetic and medical images demonstrate that the proposed method effectively separates adjacent homogeneous structures across weak boundaries and achieves competitive segmentation accuracy and improved boundary localization compared with representative variational, phase-field, and deep learning methods.

cs.CV

From level set evolution to threshold optimization: A grayscale level set framework for image segmentation

The segmentation of multiple degradations has been a challenging problem in the field of image segmentation. Existing level set approaches commonly adopt a length regularization term to constrain the geometric shape of the segmentation contour. However, the introduction of the length term often results in numerical instability and high computational cost. In this paper, we show that the length term is not essential under certain smoothness constraints, and theoretically prove that the presence of the length term affects the property of $|\nabla ϕ|=1$. Based on the finding, we define a class of smooth images, construct the grayscale level set, and propose a fast segmentation framework for degraded images, such as heavily noisy images and intensity inhomogeneous images. The framework transforms PDE evolution into one-dimensional threshold search, which has significant advantages in computational speed, especially on large-scale images. Experiments validate the segmentation performance of the proposed framework on various degraded images.

cs.CV

Latent Geometric Chords for Query-Efficient Decision-Based Adversarial Attacks

While decision-based black-box adversarial attacks present a severe security threat, current methodologies suffer from fundamental limitations. Pixel-wise attacks frequently introduce unnatural, high-frequency visual artifacts, while latent-space frameworks are confined by the limited search space of low-dimensional manifolds and inherent reconstruction flaws. To resolve these limitations, we propose Latent Geometric Chords (LGC) for Query-Efficient Decision-Based Adversarial Attacks alongside a variant, LGC-H. At its core, LGC navigates decision boundaries by executing a curvature-aware geometric search within a compressed semantic manifold. To guarantee high visual fidelity and circumvent dimensionality bottlenecks, we introduce a Residual-based Adversarial Generation (RAG) mechanism. RAG isolates semantic perturbations as geometric chords and superimposes them directly onto the original source image. RAG substantially resolves baseline reconstruction flaws and effectively doubles the permissible search space dimensions. Experimental results demonstrate that LGC achieves robust cross-dataset transferability and substantially outperforms state-of-the-art baselines. Notably, our method, LGC, minimizes perturbation magnitudes while achieving state-of-the-art visual fidelity--with a Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM) exceeding 0.99 and a Learned Perceptual Image Patch Similarity (LPIPS) below 0.01 at 5000 queries--and sustaining high attack success rates under stringent perceptual constraints, successfully compromising adversarially trained robust models. The source code is available at: https://github.com/eihmuekhine/Latent-Geometric-Chords.

cs.CV

Incorporating Local Hölder Regularity into PINNs for Solving Elliptic PDEs

In this paper, local Hölder regularization is incorporated into a physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) framework for solving elliptic partial differential equations (PDEs). Motivated by the interior regularity properties of linear elliptic PDEs, a modified loss function is constructed by introducing local Hölder regularization term. To approximate this term effectively, a variable-distance discrete sampling strategy is developed. Error estimates are established to assess the generalization performance of the proposed method. Numerical experiments on a range of elliptic problems demonstrate notable improvements in both prediction accuracy and robustness compared to standard physics-informed neural networks.

math.NA

Adversarial Transferability in Deep Denoising Models: Theoretical Insights and Robustness Enhancement via Out-of-Distribution Typical Set Sampling

Deep learning-based image denoising models demonstrate remarkable performance, but their lack of robustness analysis remains a significant concern. A major issue is that these models are susceptible to adversarial attacks, where small, carefully crafted perturbations to input data can cause them to fail. Surprisingly, perturbations specifically crafted for one model can easily transfer across various models, including CNNs, Transformers, unfolding models, and plug-and-play models, leading to failures in those models as well. Such high adversarial transferability is not observed in classification models. We analyze the possible underlying reasons behind the high adversarial transferability through a series of hypotheses and validation experiments. By characterizing the manifolds of Gaussian noise and adversarial perturbations using the concept of typical set and the asymptotic equipartition property, we prove that adversarial samples deviate slightly from the typical set of the original input distribution, causing the models to fail. Based on these insights, we propose a novel adversarial defense method: the Out-of-Distribution Typical Set Sampling Training strategy (TS). TS not only significantly enhances the model's robustness but also marginally improves denoising performance compared to the original model.

cs.CV

Re-initialization-free Level Set Method via Molecular Beam Epitaxy Equation Regularization for Image Segmentation

Variational level set method has become a powerful tool in image segmentation due to its ability to handle complex topological changes and maintain continuity and smoothness in the process of evolution. However its evolution process can be unstable, which results in over flatted or over sharpened contours and segmentation failure. To improve the accuracy and stability of evolution, we propose a high-order level set variational segmentation method integrated with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equation regularization. This method uses the crystal growth in the MBE process to limit the evolution of the level set function, and thus can avoid the re-initialization in the evolution process and regulate the smoothness of the segmented curve. It also works for noisy images with intensity inhomogeneity, which is a challenge in image segmentation. To solve the variational model, we derive the gradient flow and design scalar auxiliary variable (SAV) scheme coupled with fast Fourier transform (FFT), which can significantly improve the computational efficiency compared with the traditional semi-implicit and semi-explicit scheme. Numerical experiments show that the proposed method can generate smooth segmentation curves, retain fine segmentation targets and obtain robust segmentation results of small objects. Compared to existing level set methods, this model is state-of-the-art in both accuracy and efficiency.

cs.CV

Evaluating Similitude and Robustness of Deep Image Denoising Models via Adversarial Attack

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have shown superior performance comparing to traditional image denoising algorithms. However, DNNs are inevitably vulnerable while facing adversarial attacks. In this paper, we propose an adversarial attack method named denoising-PGD which can successfully attack all the current deep denoising models while keep the noise distribution almost unchanged. We surprisingly find that the current mainstream non-blind denoising models (DnCNN, FFDNet, ECNDNet, BRDNet), blind denoising models (DnCNN-B, Noise2Noise, RDDCNN-B, FAN), plug-and-play (DPIR, CurvPnP) and unfolding denoising models (DeamNet) almost share the same adversarial sample set on both grayscale and color images, respectively. Shared adversarial sample set indicates that all these models are similar in term of local behaviors at the neighborhood of all the test samples. Thus, we further propose an indicator to measure the local similarity of models, called robustness similitude. Non-blind denoising models are found to have high robustness similitude across each other, while hybrid-driven models are also found to have high robustness similitude with pure data-driven non-blind denoising models. According to our robustness assessment, data-driven non-blind denoising models are the most robust. We use adversarial training to complement the vulnerability to adversarial attacks. Moreover, the model-driven image denoising BM3D shows resistance on adversarial attacks.

cs.CV

A Generalized-Jacobi-Function Spectral Method for Space-Time Fractional Reaction-Diffusion Equations with Viscosity Terms

In this work, we study a new spectral Petrov-Galerkin approximation of space-time fractional reaction-diffusion equations with viscosity terms built by Riemann-Liouville fractional-order derivatives. The proposed method is reliant on generalized Jacobi functions (GJFs) for our problems. The contributions are threefold: First, thanks to the theoretical framework of variational problems, the well-posedness of the problem is proved. Second, new GJF-basis functions are established to fit weak solutions, which take full advantages of the global properties of fractional derivatives. Moreover, the basis functions conclude singular terms, in order to solve our problems with given smooth source term. Finally, we get a numerical analysis of error estimates to depend on GJF-basis functions. Numerical experiments confirm the expected convergence. In addition, they are given to show the effect of the viscosity terms in anomalous diffusion.

math.NA