Self-Supervised In-Context Operator Learning for Optimal Mixing in Incompressible Flows

Abstract

We develop a self-supervised operator-learning framework for optimal mixing in incompressible flows, aimed at overcoming the computational limitations of classical PDE-constrained optimal control. The objective is to design velocity fields that efficiently homogenize a passive scalar while minimizing kinetic energy, quantified through the $\dot H^{-1}(Ω)$ mix-norm. Classical methods solve a separate optimal control problem for each initial condition using iterative forward-adjoint procedures, leading to substantial computational costs and limited scalability. In contrast, we propose to learn the solution operator that maps initial scalar fields to optimal mixing controls directly. The proposed self-supervised method does not require access to supervised labels, thereby significantly reducing the data-generation burden of supervised operator-learning methods. Our framework integrates a Lagrangian reformulation of the transport equation with a transformer-based neural operator architecture. The transport dynamics are represented through characteristic ODEs, enabling particle-based Monte Carlo optimization, while the learned velocity field is parameterized in a divergence-free spectral basis enforcing incompressibility and no-penetration conditions exactly. Numerical experiments on parametric families of initial conditions in two and three spatial dimensions demonstrate robust generalization to unseen regimes and approximately exponential decay of the mix-norm. The learned controls also transfer consistently to independent Eulerian finite-volume simulations, validating the physical fidelity of the learned operator. To the best of our knowledge, this work provides the first self-supervised operator-learning framework for optimal mixing and among the first data-driven approaches for optimal mixing in fully three-dimensional incompressible flows.