Eleven Primitives and Three Gates: The Universal Structure of Computational Imaging
Computational imaging systems -- from coded-aperture cameras to cryo-electron microscopes -- span five carrier families yet share a hidden structural simplicity. We prove that every imaging forward model decomposes into a directed acyclic graph over exactly 11 physically typed primitives (Finite Primitive Basis Theorem) -- a sufficient and minimal basis that provides a compositional language for designing any imaging modality. We further prove that every reconstruction failure has exactly three independent root causes: information deficiency, carrier noise, and operator mismatch (Triad Decomposition). The three gates map to the system lifecycle: Gates 1 and 2 guide design (sampling geomet...
| Authors | Chengshuai Yang, Xin Yuan |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CV |
| Published | 13 March 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 13 March 2026 |
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