# Phase retrieval with rank d measurements -- descending algorithms phase transitions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.18282 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.18282/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 50 of its 132 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Jun 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 50)

- [Compressed Sensing using Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.03208/) (2017)
- [Nonconvex Optimization Meets Low-Rank Matrix Factorization: An Overview](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1809.09573/) (2018)
- [No Spurious Local Minima in Nonconvex Low Rank Problems: A Unified Geometric Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.00708/) (2017)
- [Phase Retrieval via Wirtinger Flow: Theory and Algorithms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1407.1065/) (2014)
- [Optimal Errors and Phase Transitions in High-Dimensional Generalized Linear Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.03395/) (2017)
- [Exactly Computing the Local Lipschitz Constant of ReLU Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.01219/) (2020)
- [Low-rank Solutions of Linear Matrix Equations via Procrustes Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1507.03566/) (2015)
- [A Geometric Analysis of Phase Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.06664/) (2016)
- [Global Optimality of Local Search for Low Rank Matrix Recovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.07221/) (2016)
- [Phase Retrieval Under a Generative Prior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.04261/) (2018)
- [Implicit Regularization in Nonconvex Statistical Estimation: Gradient Descent Converges Linearly for Phase Retrieval, Matrix Completion, and Blind Deconvolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.10467/) (2017)
- [Phase Retrieval using Alternating Minimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1306.0160/) (2013)
- [Solving Random Quadratic Systems of Equations Is Nearly as Easy as Solving Linear Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1505.05114/) (2015)
- [Subdominant Dense Clusters Allow for Simple Learning and High Computational Performance in Neural Networks with Discrete Synapses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1509.05753/) (2015)
- [Fundamental Limits of Weak Recovery with Applications to Phase Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.05932/) (2017)
- [Phase retrieval in high dimensions: Statistical and computational phase transitions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.05228/) (2020)
- [Non-square matrix sensing without spurious local minima via the Burer-Monteiro approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.03240/) (2016)
- [A Convergent Gradient Descent Algorithm for Rank Minimization and Semidefinite Programming from Random Linear Measurements](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.06081/) (2015)
- [Inverting Deep Generative models, One layer at a time](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.07437/) (2019)
- [Solving Systems of Random Quadratic Equations via Truncated Amplitude Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1605.08285/) (2016)
- [Phase Retrieval from Coded Diffraction Patterns](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1310.3240/) (2013)
- [Phase Transitions of Spectral Initialization for High-Dimensional Nonconvex Estimation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.06435/) (2017)
- [PhaseMax: Convex Phase Retrieval via Basis Pursuit](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.07531/) (2016)
- [Regularly random duality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1303.7295/) (2013)
- [Another look at the Gardner problem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1306.3979/) (2013)
- [Limits of local algorithms over sparse random graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1304.1831/) (2013)
- [Optimal Rates of Convergence for Noisy Sparse Phase Retrieval via Thresholded Wirtinger Flow](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.03382/) (2015)
- [Stochasticity helps to navigate rough landscapes: comparing gradient-descent-based algorithms in the phase retrieval problem](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.04902/) (2021)
- [Local entropy as a measure for sampling solutions in Constraint Satisfaction Problems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1511.05634/) (2015)
- [Optimization of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick Hamiltonian](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.10897/) (2018)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Companion paper [118] developed a powerful Random duality theory (RDT) based analytical program to statistically characterize performance of descending phase retrieval algorithms (dPR) (these include all variants of gradient descents and among them widely popular Wirtinger flows). We here generalize the program and show how it can be utilized to handle rank d positive definite phase retrieval (PR) measurements (with special cases d=1 and d=2 serving as emulations of the real and complex phase retrievals, respectively). In particular, we observe that the minimal sample complexity ratio (number of measurements scaled by the dimension of the unknown signal) which ensures dPR's success exhibits a phase transition (PT) phenomenon. For both plain and lifted RDT we determine phase transitions locations. To complement theoretical results we implement a log barrier gradient descent variant and observe that, even in small dimensional scenarios (with problem sizes on the order of 100), the simulated phase transitions are in an excellent agreement with the theoretical predictions.