arXiv:2511.08860math.DScs.AI2025-11被引 11

混沌反而让物理系统更易从数据中被唯一发现,这颠覆了直觉。

When is a System Discoverable from Data? Discovery Requires Chaos

  • 利用混沌特性,单条轨迹即可在连续函数空间中唯一识别系统
  • 洛伦兹系统首次被证明可在解析层面上被发现
  • 非混沌系统需额外物理先验知识才能可发现,适用于工程建模

深度学习推动了人工智能在科学中的应用,尤其在从观测数据中发现动力学系统方面。然而,所学代理模型与符号模型的可靠性常因非唯一性问题而受损:模型虽完美拟合数据,却缺乏真实预测能力。这引出核心问题:在什么条件下能从有限观测中唯一识别支配方程?我们反直觉地发现,通常与不可预测性相关的混沌,反而是确保系统在连续或解析函数空间中可发现的关键。基准数据集中混沌系统的普遍性可能掩盖了这一根本限制。具体而言,全域混沌系统仅需单条轨迹即可在连续函数空间中被发现;在奇异吸引子上混沌的系统,在吸引子满足特定几何条件时可解析发现。我们首次证明经典洛伦兹系统具备解析可发现性。此外,若存在一阶积分(常见于真实系统),则解析可发现性不可能实现。这些发现解释了数据驱动方法在天气预报等混沌领域成功的原因,同时揭示了数字孪生等工程应用的重大挑战——期望稳定可预测行为的系统难以通过纯数据驱动发现。对于非混沌系统,我们发现仅靠轨迹数据不足,但引入特定物理先验知识可保障可发现性。这些成果要求对纯粹数据驱动发现的根本假设进行重新审视。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

The deep learning revolution has spurred a rise in advances of using AI in sciences. Within physical sciences the main focus has been on discovery of dynamical systems from observational data. Yet the reliability of learned surrogates and symbolic models is often undermined by the fundamental problem of non-uniqueness. The resulting models may fit the available data perfectly, but lack genuine predictive power. This raises the question: under what conditions can the systems governing equations be uniquely identified from a finite set of observations? We show, counter-intuitively, that chaos, typically associated with unpredictability, is crucial for ensuring a system is discoverable in the space of continuous or analytic functions. The prevalence of chaotic systems in benchmark datasets may have inadvertently obscured this fundamental limitation. More concretely, we show that systems chaotic on their entire domain are discoverable from a single trajectory within the space of continuous functions, and systems chaotic on a strange attractor are analytically discoverable under a geometric condition on the attractor. As a consequence, we demonstrate for the first time that the classical Lorenz system is analytically discoverable. Moreover, we establish that analytic discoverability is impossible in the presence of first integrals, common in real-world systems. These findings help explain the success of data-driven methods in inherently chaotic domains like weather forecasting, while revealing a significant challenge for engineering applications like digital twins, where stable, predictable behavior is desired. For these non-chaotic systems, we find that while trajectory data alone is insufficient, certain prior physical knowledge can help ensure discoverability. These findings warrant a critical re-evaluation of the fundamental assumptions underpinning purely data-driven discovery.

系统发现混沌理论数据驱动物理建模

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