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Xia Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Xia Chen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

InkIdeator: Supporting Chinese-Style Visual Design Ideation via AI-Infused Exploration of Chinese Paintings

Visual designers often seek inspiration from Chinese paintings when tasked with creating Chinese-style illustrations, posters, etc. Our formative study (N=10) reveals that during ideation, designers learn the cultural symbols, emotions, compositions, and styles in Chinese paintings but face challenges in searching, analyzing, and integrating these dimensions. This paper leverages multi-modal large models to annotate the value of each dimension in 16,315 Chinese paintings, built on which we propose InkIdeator, an ideation support system for Chinese-style visual designs. InkIdeator suggests cultural symbols associated with the task theme, provides dimensional keywords to help analyze Chinese paintings, and generates visual examples integrating user-selected keywords. Our within-subjects study (N=12) using a baseline system without extracted dimensional keywords, along with two extended use cases by Chinese painters, indicates InkIdeator's effectiveness in creative ideation support, helping users efficiently explore cultural dimensions in Chinese paintings and visualize their ideas. We discuss implications for supporting culture-related visual design ideation with generative AI.

cs.HC↗
arXiv2026

Self-Augmented Mixture-of-Experts for QoS Prediction

Quality of Service (QoS) prediction is one of the most fundamental problems in service computing and personalized recommendation. In the problem, there is a set of users and services, each associated with a set of descriptive features. Interactions between users and services produce feedback values, typically represented as numerical QoS metrics such as response time or availability. Given the observed feedback for a subset of user-service pairs, the goal is to predict the QoS values for the remaining pairs. A key challenge in QoS prediction is the inherent sparsity of user-service interactions, as only a small subset of feedback values is typically observed. To address this, we propose a self-augmented strategy that leverages a model's own predictions for iterative refinement. In particular, we partially mask the predicted values and feed them back into the model to predict again. Building on this idea, we design a self-augmented mixture-of-experts model, where multiple expert networks iteratively and collaboratively estimate QoS values. We find that the iterative augmentation process naturally aligns with the MoE architecture by enabling inter-expert communication: in the second round, each expert receives the first-round predictions and refines its output accordingly. Experiments on benchmark datasets show that our method outperforms existing baselines and achieves competitive results.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2025

Constraint Breeds Generalization: Temporal Dynamics as an Inductive Bias

Conventional deep learning prioritizes unconstrained optimization, yet biological systems operate under strict metabolic constraints. We propose that these physical constraints shape dynamics to function not as limitations, but as a temporal inductive bias that breeds generalization. Through a phase-space analysis of signal propagation, we reveal a fundamental asymmetry: expansive dynamics amplify noise, whereas proper dissipative dynamics compress phase space that aligns with the network's spectral bias, compelling the abstraction of invariant features. This condition can be imposed externally via input encoding, or intrinsically through the network's own temporal dynamics. Both pathways require architectures capable of temporal integration and proper constraints to decode induced invariants, whereas static architectures fail to capitalize on temporal structure. Through comprehensive evaluations across supervised classification, unsupervised reconstruction, and zero-shot reinforcement learning, we demonstrate that a critical "transition" regime maximizes generalization capability. These findings establish dynamical constraints as a distinct class of inductive bias, suggesting that robust AI development requires not only scaling and removing limitations, but computationally mastering the temporal characteristics that naturally promote generalization.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2025

From 'What-is' to 'What-if' in Human-Factor Analysis: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation Case

Human-factor analysis typically employs correlation analysis and significance testing to identify relationships between variables. However, these descriptive ('what-is') methods, while effective for identifying associations, are often insufficient for answering causal ('what-if') questions. Their application in such contexts often overlooks confounding and colliding variables, potentially leading to bias and suboptimal or incorrect decisions. We advocate for explicitly distinguishing descriptive from interventional questions in human-factor analysis, and applying causal inference frameworks specifically to these problems to prevent methodological mismatches. This approach disentangles complex variable relationships and enables counterfactual reasoning. Using post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data from the Center for the Built Environment's (CBE) Occupant Survey as a demonstration case, we show how causal discovery reveals intervention hierarchies and directional relationships that traditional associational analysis misses. The systematic distinction between causally associated and independent variables, combined with intervention prioritization capabilities, offers broad applicability to complex human-centric systems, for example, in building science or ergonomics, where understanding intervention effects is critical for optimization and decision-making.

stat.AP↗
arXiv2025

From Solving to Verifying: A Unified Objective for Robust Reasoning in LLMs

The reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs) have been significantly improved through reinforcement learning (RL). Nevertheless, LLMs still struggle to consistently verify their own reasoning traces. This raises the research question of how to enhance the self-verification ability of LLMs and whether such an ability can further improve reasoning performance. In this work, we propose GRPO-Verif, an algorithm that jointly optimizes solution generation and self-verification within a unified loss function, with an adjustable hyperparameter controlling the weight of the verification signal. Experimental results demonstrate that our method enhances self-verification capability while maintaining comparable performance in reasoning.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2025

TaskAudit: Detecting Functiona11ity Errors in Mobile Apps via Agentic Task Execution

Accessibility checkers are tools in support of accessible app development, and their use is encouraged by accessibility best practices. However, most current checkers evaluate static or mechanically-generated contexts, failing to capture common accessibility errors impacting mobile app functionality. In this work, we define functiona11ity errors as accessibility barriers that only manifest through interaction (i.e., named according to a blend of "functionality" and "accessibility"). We introduce TaskAudit, which comprises three components: a Task Generator that constructs interactive tasks from app screens, a Task Executor that uses agents with a screen reader proxy to perform these tasks, and an Accessibility Analyzer that detects and reports accessibility errors by examining interaction traces. Our evaluation on real-world apps shows that TaskAudit detects 48 functiona11ity errors from 54 app screens, compared to between 4 and 20 with existing checkers. Our analysis demonstrates common error patterns that TaskAudit can detect in addition to those from prior work, including label-functionality mismatch, cluttered navigation, and inappropriate feedback.

cs.HC↗
arXiv2025

Time-dependency in hyperbolic Anderson model: Stratonovich regime

In this paper, the hyperbolic Anderson equation generated by a time-dependent Gaussian noise is under investigation in two fronts: The solvability and large-$t$ asymptotics. The investigation leads to a necessary and sufficient condition for existence and a precise large-$t$ limit form for the expectation of the solution. Three major developments are made for achieving these goals: A universal bound for Stratonovich moment that guarantees the Stratonovich integrability and ${\cal L}^2$-convergence of the Stratonovich chaos expansion under the best possible condition, a representation of the expected Stratonovich moments in terms of a time-randomized Brownian intersection local time, and a large deviation principle for the time-randomized Brownian intersection local time.

math.PR↗
arXiv2025

Dynamical Alignment: A Principle for Adaptive Neural Computation

The computational capabilities of a neural network are widely assumed to be determined by its static architecture. Here we challenge this view by establishing that a fixed neural structure can operate in fundamentally different computational modes, driven not by its structure but by the temporal dynamics of its input signals. We term this principle 'Dynamical Alignment'. Applying this principle offers a novel resolution to the long-standing paradox of why brain-inspired spiking neural networks (SNNs) underperform. By encoding static input into controllable dynamical trajectories, we uncover a bimodal optimization landscape with a critical phase transition governed by phase space volume dynamics. A 'dissipative' mode, driven by contracting dynamics, achieves superior energy efficiency through sparse temporal codes. In contrast, an 'expansive' mode, driven by expanding dynamics, unlocks the representational power required for SNNs to match or even exceed their artificial neural network counterparts on diverse tasks, including classification, reinforcement learning, and cognitive integration. We find this computational advantage emerges from a timescale alignment between input dynamics and neuronal integration. This principle, in turn, offers a unified, computable perspective on long-observed dualities in neuroscience, from stability-plasticity dilemma to segregation-integration dynamic. It demonstrates that computation in both biological and artificial systems can be dynamically sculpted by 'software' on fixed 'hardware', pointing toward a potential paradigm shift for AI research: away from designing complex static architectures and toward mastering adaptive, dynamic computation principles.

cs.NE↗
arXiv2025

Detection and manipulation of surface electric field noise of hexagonal boron nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) spin defects off er transformative potential for quantum sensing through atomic-scale proximity to target samples, yet their performance is fundamentally limited by rapid coherence loss. While magnetic noise mechanisms have been extensively studied, another critical infl uence from surface electric fi eld noise remains unexplored in hBN systems. Here,we address this challenge and systematically investigate surface electric fi eld noise in hBN using shallow boron vacancy defects. The double-quantum spin relaxation behavior in response to magnetic fi elds and defect depths is examined, revealing that the relaxation rate follows a distinctive depth-related power-law dependence of ODMR splitting frequency. The relaxation is also demonstrated to be independent of the defect concentrations. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of the relaxation rate is investigated, showing a noticeable rise as the temperature increases from 296 K to 453 K, thus highlighting the infl uence of thermal eff ects on spin relaxation. To further suppress surface electric fi eld noise, we explore the eff ectiveness of passivation materials, including glycerol and PMMA. Notably, PMMA is more effi cient in mitigating surface electric fi eld noise. These experiments enhance the understanding of surface electric fi eld noise in hBN and provide a foundation for developing noise mitigation strategies in future research.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2025

Redesign of Online Design Communities: Facilitating Personalized Visual Design Learning with Structured Comments

Online Design Communities (ODCs) offer various artworks with members' comments for beginners to learn visual design. However, as identified by our Formative Study (N = 10), current ODCs lack features customized for personal learning purposes, e.g., searching artworks and digesting useful comments to learn design principles about buttons. In this paper, we present DesignLearner, a redesigned interface of ODCs to facilitate personalized visual design learning with comments structured based on UI components (e.g., button, text) and visual elements (e.g., color, contrast). In DesignLearner, learners can specify the UI components and visual elements that they wish to learn to filter artworks and associated comments. They can interactively read comments on an artwork, take notes, and get suggestions for the next artworks to explore. Our between-subjects study (N = 24) indicates that compared to a traditional ODC interface, DesignLearner can improve the user learning outcome and is deemed significantly more useful. We conclude with design considerations for customizing the interface of online communities to satisfy users' learning needs.

cs.HC↗
arXiv2025

ScreenAudit: Detecting Screen Reader Accessibility Errors in Mobile Apps Using Large Language Models

Many mobile apps are inaccessible, thereby excluding people from their potential benefits. Existing rule-based accessibility checkers aim to mitigate these failures by identifying errors early during development but are constrained in the types of errors they can detect. We present ScreenAudit, an LLM-powered system designed to traverse mobile app screens, extract metadata and transcripts, and identify screen reader accessibility errors overlooked by existing checkers. We recruited six accessibility experts including one screen reader user to evaluate ScreenAudit's reports across 14 unique app screens. Our findings indicate that ScreenAudit achieves an average coverage of 69.2%, compared to only 31.3% with a widely-used accessibility checker. Expert feedback indicated that ScreenAudit delivered higher-quality feedback and addressed more aspects of screen reader accessibility compared to existing checkers, and that ScreenAudit would benefit app developers in real-world settings.

cs.HC↗
arXiv2025

Fuzzy Information Entropy and Region Biased Matrix Factorization for Web Service QoS Prediction

Nowadays, there are many similar services available on the internet, making Quality of Service (QoS) a key concern for users. Since collecting QoS values for all services through user invocations is impractical, predicting QoS values is a more feasible approach. Matrix factorization is considered an effective prediction method. However, most existing matrix factorization algorithms focus on capturing global similarities between users and services, overlooking the local similarities between users and their similar neighbors, as well as the non-interactive effects between users and services. This paper proposes a matrix factorization approach based on user information entropy and region bias, which utilizes a similarity measurement method based on fuzzy information entropy to identify similar neighbors of users. Simultaneously, it integrates the region bias between each user and service linearly into matrix factorization to capture the non-interactive features between users and services. This method demonstrates improved predictive performance in more realistic and complex network environments. Additionally, numerous experiments are conducted on real-world QoS datasets. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms some of the state-of-the-art methods in the field at matrix densities ranging from 5% to 20%.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2025

RAHN: A Reputation Based Hourglass Network for Web Service QoS Prediction

As the homogenization of Web services becomes more and more common, the difficulty of service recommendation is gradually increasing. How to predict Quality of Service (QoS) more efficiently and accurately becomes an important challenge for service recommendation. Considering the excellent role of reputation and deep learning (DL) techniques in the field of QoS prediction, we propose a reputation and DL based QoS prediction network, RAHN, which contains the Reputation Calculation Module (RCM), the Latent Feature Extraction Module (LFEM), and the QoS Prediction Hourglass Network (QPHN). RCM obtains the user reputation and the service reputation by using a clustering algorithm and a Logit model. LFEM extracts latent features from known information to form an initial latent feature vector. QPHN aggregates latent feature vectors with different scales by using Attention Mechanism, and can be stacked multiple times to obtain the final latent feature vector for prediction. We evaluate RAHN on a real QoS dataset. The experimental results show that the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of RAHN are smaller than the six baseline methods.

cs.SE↗
arXiv2024

Lattice dynamics and phonon dispersion of van der Waals layered ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2

Despite the tremendous progress in spintronic studies of van der Waals (vdW) room-temperature ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2, much less effort has been spent on its lattice dynamics and possible interaction with spintronic degrees of freedom. In this work, by combining Raman spectroscopy in a wide range of pressure (atmospheric pressure~19.5 GPa) and temperature (80~690 K) with first-principles calculation, we systematically studied the lattice dynamics and phonon dispersion of Fe3GaTe2. Our results show that the phonon energies of Fe3GaTe2 located at 126.0 cm-1 and 143.5 cm-1 originate from the anharmonic and harmonic vibration modes, respectively. Furthermore, the first room-temperature spin-phonon coupling in vdW ferromagnet is observed with strength of ~0.81 cm-1 at 300 K, by identifying Raman anomalies in both phonon energy and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of below Curie temperature of Fe3GaTe2. Our findings are valuable for fundamental and applied studies of vdW materials under variable conditions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗
arXiv2024

Integrating Symbolic Neural Networks with Building Physics: A Study and Proposal

Symbolic neural networks, such as Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KAN), offer a promising approach for integrating prior knowledge with data-driven methods, making them valuable for addressing inverse problems in scientific and engineering domains. This study explores the application of KAN in building physics, focusing on predictive modeling, knowledge discovery, and continuous learning. Through four case studies, we demonstrate KAN's ability to rediscover fundamental equations, approximate complex formulas, and capture time-dependent dynamics in heat transfer. While there are challenges in extrapolation and interpretability, we highlight KAN's potential to combine advanced modeling methods for knowledge augmentation, which benefits energy efficiency, system optimization, and sustainability assessments beyond the personal knowledge constraints of the modelers. Additionally, we propose a model selection decision tree to guide practitioners in appropriate applications for building physics.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2024

Noninvasive magnetic detection of 2D van der Waals room-temperature ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 using divacancy spins in SiC

Room-temperature (RT) two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets hold immense promise for next-generation spintronic devices for information storage and processing. To achieve high-density energy-efficient spintronic devices, it is essential to understand local magnetic properties of RT 2D vdW magnets. In this work, we realize noninvasive in situ magnetic detection in vdW-layered ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 using divacancy spins quantum sensor in silicon carbide (SiC) at RT. The structural features and magnetic properties of the Fe3GaTe2 are characterized utilizing Raman spectrum, magnetization and magneto-transport measurements. Further detailed analysis of temperature- and magnetic field-dependent optically detected magnetic resonances of the PL6 divacancy near the Fe3GaTe2 reveal that, the Curie temperature (Tc) of Fe3GaTe2 is ~360K, and the magnetization increases with external magnetic fields. Additionally, spin relaxometry technology is employed to probe the magnetic fluctuations of Fe3GaTe2, revealing a peak in the spin relaxation rate around Tc. These experiments give insights into the intriguing local magnetic properties of 2D vdW RT ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 and pave the way for the application of SiC quantum sensors in noninvasive in situ magnetic detection of related 2D vdW magnets.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Hyperbolic Anderson equations with general time-independent Gaussian noise: Stratonovich regime

In this paper, we investigate the hyperbolic Anderson equation generated by a time-independent Gaussian noise with two objectives: The solvability and intermittency. First, we prove that Dalang's condition is necessary and sufficient for existence of the solution. Second, we establish the precise long time and high moment asymptotics for the solution under the usual homogeneity assumption of the covariance of the Gaussian noise. Our approach is fundamentally different from the ones existing in literature. The main contributions in our approach include the representation of Stratonovich moment under Laplace transform via the moments of the Brownian motions in Gaussian potentials and some large deviation skills developed in dealing effectively with the Stratonovich chaos expansion.

math.PR↗