A Mathematical Framework for Topological Causal Data Analysis
Hugo Gobato Souto, Ioannis Diamantis
Abstract
Many modern outcomes, including images, point clouds, networks, and spatial fields, are structured objects for which \(Y^1-Y^0\) may be undefined or scientifically inadequate. We introduce \emph{Topological Causal Data Analysis} (TCDA), a framework separating the observation space, causal-model class, topological representation, and causal query. Topology does not define interventions; it supplies stable, shape-sensitive summaries after causal assumptions have been specified. We distinguish outcome-level TCDA, which transforms individual potential outcomes, from distribution-level TCDA, which transforms interventional outcome laws, and characterize when outcome and distribution level contrasts agree. Building on recent outcome-level theory, we formulate identification and doubly robust representations for Banach-space-valued summaries. At the distribution level, we identify targets through the standard causal \(g\)-formula and derive stability-transfer bounds and plug-in consistency. We also place target-specific topological ignorability within the framework, clarifying when a covariate-standardized coarse effect can be identified without identifying the full interventional laws. Finally, we delimit the role of observational topology in causal discovery: it can assist diagnosis on restricted model classes but cannot by itself identify causal structure.
Topics
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