Cohomological Obstructions to Global Counterfactuals: A Sheaf-Theoretic Foundation for Generative Causal Models
On the map: Diffusion models → Diffusion foundations and sampling
Abstract (arXiv)
Current continuous generative models (e.g., Diffusion Models, Flow Matching) implicitly assume that locally consistent causal mechanisms naturally yield globally coherent counterfactuals. In this paper, we prove that this assumption fails fundamentally when the causal graph exhibits non-trivial homology (e.g., structural conflicts or hidden confounders). We formalize structural causal models as cellular sheaves over Wasserstein spaces, providing a strict algebraic topological definition of cohomological obstructions in measure spaces. To ensure computational tractability and avoid deterministic singularities (which we define as manifold tearing), we introduce entropic regularization and derive the Entropic Wasserstein Causal Sheaf Laplacian, a novel system of coupled non-linear Fokker-Planck equations. Crucially, we prove an entropic pullback lemma for the first variation of pushforward measures. By integrating this with the Implicit Function Theorem (IFT) on Sinkhorn optimality conditions, we establish a direct algorithmic bridge to automatic differentiation (VJP), achieving O(1)-memory reverse-mode gradients strictly independent of the iteration horizon. Empirically, our framework successfully leverages thermodynamic noise to navigate topological barriers ("entropic tunneling") in high-dimensional scRNA-seq counterfactuals. Finally, we invert this theoretical framework to introduce the Topological Causal Score, demonstrating that our Sheaf Laplacian acts as a highly sensitive algebraic detector for topology-aware causal discovery.
Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Diffusion foundations and sampling, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 6 of its 17 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 18 Mar 2026.
Builds on
6 of 17 references.
References · 6
- 2013Sinkhorn Distances: Lightspeed Computation of Optimal Transportation Distancescited by 2,277
- 2018DAGs with NO TEARS: Continuous Optimization for Structure Learningcited by 745
- 2020Differentiable Causal Discovery from Interventional Datacited by 218
- 2022Neural Sheaf Diffusion: A Topological Perspective on Heterophily and Oversmoothing in GNNscited by 208
- 2017CausalGAN: Learning Causal Implicit Generative Models with Adversarial Trainingcited by 152
- 2017Causal Generative Neural Networkscited by 24
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