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arxiv: 2604.15699 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-17 · 💻 cs.LG · cs.SI

Recognition: unknown

Graph self-supervised learning based on frequency corruption

Guanfeng Liu, Haojie Li, Junwei Du, Mengjiao Zhang, Qiang Hu, Yan Wang

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Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 08:30 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 💻 cs.LG cs.SI
keywords graphlearningcorruptedfrequencygraphshigh-frequencyself-supervisedfc-gssl
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The pith

FC-GSSL improves graph SSL by generating high-frequency biased corrupted graphs via low-frequency contribution-based corruption, reconstructing low-frequency features in an autoencoder, and aligning multi-view representations to fuse frequency bands.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

Graphs contain signals at different frequencies: low-frequency parts often capture broad structures while high-frequency parts capture local details. Many existing self-supervised methods on graphs tend to over-focus on local patterns and under-use high-frequency signals. FC-GSSL deliberately corrupts the graph by targeting nodes and edges that contribute most to low-frequency content, producing views that are richer in high-frequency information. These corrupted graphs are fed into an autoencoder whose target is to recover the original low-frequency and general features. Multiple sampling strategies create diverse corrupted versions whose intersections and unions are used to generate varied views. The model is trained to make node representations consistent across these views. This forces the learned embeddings to combine information from multiple frequency ranges rather than relying on any single band. The approach is evaluated on node classification, graph-level prediction, and transfer learning tasks across 14 datasets.

Core claim

Experiments on 14 datasets across node classification, graph prediction, and transfer learning show that FC-GSSL consistently improves performance and generalization.

Load-bearing premise

That corrupting nodes and edges according to their low-frequency contributions produces graphs biased toward high-frequency information whose use as autoencoder inputs with low-frequency reconstruction targets will force the model to fuse multi-frequency information and reduce overfitting to local patterns.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.15699 by Guanfeng Liu, Haojie Li, Junwei Du, Mengjiao Zhang, Qiang Hu, Yan Wang.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: An overview of FC-GSSL corresponding rank indices. The specific formula is as follows: Q ∼ 𝑀𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑎𝑙 (𝑅𝐼 (𝐶),𝑇 ), (4) where 𝑅𝐼(·) is defined as the ranking and indexing operation, and Q is the sampled item set derived from the rank-based sampling strategy. Corrupted Item Selection Strategy. To mitigate the model’s over￾reliance on specific high-frequency signals and the bias induced by specific sampling … view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: The Influence of the loss weights 𝛼 and 𝛽. 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 The value of rN 38 39 40 41 42 43 Accuracy (%) (a) Actor 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 The value of rE 38 39 40 41 42 43 Accuracy (%) (b) Actor 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 The value of rN 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 Accuracy (%) (c) molbbbp 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 The value of rE 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 Accuracy (%) (d) molbbbp [PITH_FULL_IMAG… view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: The Influence of the sampling rates 𝑟𝑁 and 𝑟𝐸. the additional information provided by the L𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 term, which is controlled by 𝛼, is limited. Furthermore, edge corruption helps align representations from different corrupted graphs, enhancing the model’s sensitivity to the L𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑛 term, which is controlled by 𝛽. (2) As shown in [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p008_3.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Graph self-supervised learning can reduce the need for labeled graph data and has been widely used in recommendation, social networks, and other web applications. However, existing methods often underuse high-frequency signals and may overfit to specific local patterns, which limits representation quality and generalization. We propose Frequency-Corrupt Based Graph Self-Supervised Learning (FC-GSSL), a method that builds corrupted graphs biased toward high-frequency information by corrupting nodes and edges according to their low-frequency contributions. These corrupted graphs are used as inputs to an autoencoder, while low-frequency and general features are reconstructed as supervision targets, forcing the model to fuse information from multiple frequency bands. We further design multiple sampling strategies and generate diverse corrupted graphs from the intersections and unions of the sampling results. By aligning node representations from these views, the model can discover useful frequency combinations, reduce reliance on specific high-frequency components, and improve robustness. Experiments on 14 datasets across node classification, graph prediction, and transfer learning show that FC-GSSL consistently improves performance and generalization.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 1 minor

Summary. The paper proposes Frequency-Corrupt Based Graph Self-Supervised Learning (FC-GSSL). It constructs corrupted graphs by removing or perturbing nodes and edges weighted by their low-frequency contributions, thereby biasing inputs toward high-frequency signals. These corrupted graphs are fed to an autoencoder whose reconstruction targets are low-frequency and general features; multiple sampling strategies generate diverse views whose node representations are aligned. The method is evaluated on 14 datasets spanning node classification, graph prediction, and transfer learning, with the claim of consistent performance and generalization gains.

Significance. If the frequency-corruption mechanism is shown to reliably increase high-frequency energy and the resulting multi-frequency fusion demonstrably improves representations beyond generic augmentations, the approach could usefully extend graph SSL by mitigating local-pattern overfitting. The multi-view sampling and alignment component is a constructive design choice that could be adopted more broadly.

major comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract and method description: the central mechanistic claim—that node/edge corruption weighted by low-frequency contributions produces inputs whose spectrum is shifted toward high-frequency content, which the autoencoder then fuses with low-frequency targets—is not directly tested. No spectral analysis (e.g., quadratic form x^T L x or energy in Laplacian eigenvectors) comparing corrupted versus original graphs is reported; without this verification the performance gains on the 14 datasets could arise from generic augmentation rather than the claimed frequency fusion.
  2. [Experiments] Experiments: the manuscript asserts consistent improvement across 14 datasets but supplies neither quantitative tables with per-dataset metrics and baselines, ablation studies isolating the frequency-corruption component, nor error bars or statistical tests. This absence prevents evaluation of effect size, reliability, and whether the gains are attributable to the proposed mechanism.
minor comments (1)
  1. [Method] Notation for frequency contributions and sampling strategies should be defined more explicitly (e.g., precise formulas for low-frequency weighting and intersection/union operations) to allow reproduction.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: empirical proposal validated on external data

full rationale

The paper defines FC-GSSL as a concrete augmentation procedure (low-frequency-weighted node/edge corruption) whose intended effect on the autoencoder is stated as a design goal rather than derived by equation. No self-definitional loops, fitted parameters renamed as predictions, or load-bearing self-citations appear in the provided text. Performance claims rest on experiments across 14 independent datasets, not on internal algebraic equivalence to the inputs.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

Based solely on the abstract, the method assumes standard graph signal processing notions of frequency decomposition without introducing new free parameters, axioms beyond domain conventions, or invented entities.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Graph data admits a meaningful decomposition into low- and high-frequency components that can be used to guide corruption.
    The corruption rule and reconstruction target both rely on distinguishing frequency contributions.

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