arXiv:2512.14241cs.LGcs.AI2025-12

提出新方法评估图生成模型,超越传统MMD指标

Beyond MMD: Evaluating Graph Generative Models with Geometric Deep Learning

  • 用几何深度学习构建新评估框架,关注图结构特征
  • 发现主流图生成模型难以保持不同领域图的结构差异
  • 适合研究图生成、模型评估或网络科学的学者参考

图生成在网络安全、生物信息学等领域具有重要意义,能生成模仿真实网络特性的合成图。图生成模型(GGMs)利用深度学习学习真实图的分布并生成新样本,包括变分自编码器、循环神经网络及扩散模型等。但现有评估多依赖最大均值差异(MMD)衡量图属性分布,存在局限性。本文提出新型评估方法RGM(Representation-aware Graph-generation Model evaluation),通过在自定义合成与真实图数据集上训练几何深度学习模型进行图分类,对两种先进模型GRAN和EDGE进行全面评估。结果表明,尽管两者能生成具备部分拓扑特性的图,但在保持不同图域间关键结构特征方面表现不足。研究还揭示MMD作为评估指标的不足,并为未来研究提供替代路径。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Graph generation is a crucial task in many fields, including network science and bioinformatics, as it enables the creation of synthetic graphs that mimic the properties of real-world networks for various applications. Graph Generative Models (GGMs) have emerged as a promising solution to this problem, leveraging deep learning techniques to learn the underlying distribution of real-world graphs and generate new samples that closely resemble them. Examples include approaches based on Variational Auto-Encoders, Recurrent Neural Networks, and more recently, diffusion-based models. However, the main limitation often lies in the evaluation process, which typically relies on Maximum Mean Discrepancy (MMD) as a metric to assess the distribution of graph properties in the generated ensemble. This paper introduces a novel methodology for evaluating GGMs that overcomes the limitations of MMD, which we call RGM (Representation-aware Graph-generation Model evaluation). As a practical demonstration of our methodology, we present a comprehensive evaluation of two state-of-the-art Graph Generative Models: Graph Recurrent Attention Networks (GRAN) and Efficient and Degree-guided graph GEnerative model (EDGE). We investigate their performance in generating realistic graphs and compare them using a Geometric Deep Learning model trained on a custom dataset of synthetic and real-world graphs, specifically designed for graph classification tasks. Our findings reveal that while both models can generate graphs with certain topological properties, they exhibit significant limitations in preserving the structural characteristics that distinguish different graph domains. We also highlight the inadequacy of Maximum Mean Discrepancy as an evaluation metric for GGMs and suggest alternative approaches for future research.

图生成模型评估几何深度学习

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