# Min-Path-Tracing: A Diffraction Aware Alternative to Image Method in Ray Tracing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.06399 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.06399/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 16 Jan 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Towards Generative Ray Path Sampling for Faster Point-to-Point Ray Tracing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.23773/) (2024)
- [Comparing Differentiable and Dynamic Ray Tracing: Introducing the Multipath Lifetime Map](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14535/) (2024)
- [Transform-Invariant Generative Ray Path Sampling for Efficient Radio Propagation Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.01655/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

For more than twenty years, Ray Tracing methods have continued to improve on both accuracy and computational time aspects. However, most state-of-the-art image-based ray tracers still rely on a description of the environment that only contains planar surfaces. They are also limited by the number of diffractions they can simulate. We present Min-Path-Tracing (MPT), an alternative to the image method that can handle diffractions seamlessly, while also leveraging the possibility to use different geometries for surfaces or edges, such as parabolic mirrors. MPT uses implicit representations of objects to write the path finding challenge as a minimization problem. We further show that multiple diffractions can be important in some situations, which MPT is capable to simulate without increasing neither the computational nor the implementation complexity.