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Coloring the Noise: Adversarial Sobolev Alignment for Faithful Image Super Resolution

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AuthorsHongbo Wang et al.
Year2026
HF Upvotes7
arXiv2605.23264
PDFDownload
HF PageView on Hugging Face

Abstract

Generative priors in Image Super-Resolution (SR) often compromise faithful restoration, we attribute this limitation to a fundamental spectral misalignment between isotropic objectives and the intrinsic natural image manifold. While Direct Preference Optimization offers a path to alignment, its reliance on spectrally flat Gaussian noise fails to distinguish authentic high-frequency details from hallucinations. To bridge this geometric gap, we propose ASASR, a theoretically grounded framework that recasts the generative flow into a Sobolev-induced Riemannian geometry by explicitly coloring the noise transition kernel to mirror natural spectral decay. Driving this geometric alignment, we integrate a parametric adversary grounded in the Riesz Representation Theorem, which synthesizes targeted negative samples equivalent to worst-case Sobolev gradients to direct optimization along the tangent space of plausible structural failures. Extensive evaluations demonstrate that ASASR outperforms leading generative baselines, particularly in preserving spectral consistency and structural fidelity, offering a robust solution that effectively mitigates artifacts.


Engineering Breakdown

The Problem

Generative priors in Image Super-Resolution (SR) often compromise faithful restoration, we attribute this limitation to a fundamental spectral misalignment between isotropic objectives and the intrinsic natural image manifold.

The Approach

To bridge this geometric gap, we propose ASASR, a theoretically grounded framework that recasts the generative flow into a Sobolev-induced Riemannian geometry by explicitly coloring the noise transition kernel to mirror natural spectral decay.

Key Results

Extensive evaluations demonstrate that ASASR outperforms leading generative baselines, particularly in preserving spectral consistency and structural fidelity, offering a robust solution that effectively mitigates artifacts.

Research Areas

This paper contributes to the following areas of AI/ML engineering:

  • Machine learning
  • Deep learning
  • Neural networks
  • Model optimization
  • AI systems
  • Adversarial

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