# D-JEPA: Design-Recoverable JEPA Representation with Swappable Physics Decoders

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.33110 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33110/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 23 of its 30 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Sep 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 23 of 23)

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- [Understanding intermediate layers using linear classifier probes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.01644/) (2016)
- [VICReg: Variance-Invariance-Covariance Regularization for Self-Supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.04906/) (2021)
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- [data2vec: A General Framework for Self-supervised Learning in Speech, Vision and Language](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.03555/) (2022)
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- [Machine Learning for Fluid Mechanics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.11075/) (2019)
- [Transolver: A Fast Transformer Solver for PDEs on General Geometries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02366/) (2024)
- [LeJEPA: Provable and Scalable Self-Supervised Learning Without the Heuristics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.08544/) (2025)
- [AB-UPT: Scaling Neural CFD Surrogates for High-Fidelity Automotive Aerodynamics Simulations via Anchored-Branched Universal Physics Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09692/) (2025)
- [DoMINO: A Decomposable Multi-scale Iterative Neural Operator for Modeling Large Scale Engineering Simulations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.13350/) (2025)
- [GeoTransolver: Learning Physics on Irregular Domains Using Multi-scale Geometry Aware Physics Attention Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.20399/) (2025)
- [AeroJEPA: Learning Semantic Latent Representations for Scalable 3D Aerodynamic Field Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.05586/) (2026)
- [AutoHood3D: A Multi-Modal Benchmark for Automotive Hood Design and Fluid-Structure Interaction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.05596/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Joint-Embedding Predictive Architectures (JEPAs) provide a framework for learning compact representations without directly reconstructing high-dimensional observations. However, in parameterized physical systems, learned representations can entangle geometry with operating conditions and task-specific physical responses, limiting their reuse across prediction tasks. We introduce D-JEPA (Design-recoverable JEPA), a geometry-centric JEPA that computes a compact representation from geometry alone and reuses it across operating conditions and physical response spaces through lightweight physics-specific decoders. An explicit design-recoverability objective encourages the geometry latent to preserve information about the underlying design variables, enabling the representation to support design analysis and optimization. We further identify a case-level collapse failure mode in which target representations become nearly invariant across distinct geometries despite low reconstruction error, and mitigate it using case-level variation constraints and auxiliary target reconstruction. Across four 3D aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, and structural benchmarks, D-JEPA maintains or improves full-field prediction accuracy while achieving near-perfect linear recoverability of design parameters. The frozen geometry representation can be reused at held-out operating conditions and transferred to a structural response task with fewer trainable parameters. Finally, the representation supports differentiable design optimization, with designs validated using high-fidelity CFD, preserving the predicted ranking of candidate designs. These results demonstrate that separating a reusable geometry representation from physics-specific prediction provides a practical representation for scientific surrogate modeling and design.