mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Efficient and Unbiased Sampling of Boltzmann Distributions via Consistency Models

arXiv 2409.07323 ↗First posted 11 Sep 2024cs.LG stat.MLcited by 3

On the map: Diffusion models → Diffusion foundations and sampling

Abstract (arXiv)

Diffusion models have shown promising potential for advancing Boltzmann Generators. However, two critical challenges persist: (1) inherent errors in samples due to model imperfections, and (2) the requirement of hundreds of functional evaluations (NFEs) to achieve high-quality samples. While existing solutions like importance sampling and distillation address these issues separately, they are often incompatible, as most distillation models lack the necessary density information for importance sampling. This paper introduces a novel sampling method that effectively combines Consistency Models (CMs) with importance sampling. We evaluate our approach on both synthetic energy functions and equivariant n-body particle systems. Our method produces unbiased samples using only 6-25 NFEs while achieving a comparable Effective Sample Size (ESS) to Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DDPMs) that require approximately 100 NFEs.

Key facts. Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Diffusion foundations and sampling, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 12 of its 17 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 11 Sep 2024.

Builds on

12 of 17 references.

Closest ancestors · 7

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024Bidirectional Consistency Models26 Mar
  2. 2023Consistency Trajectory Models: Learning Probability Flow ODE Trajectory of Diffusion1 Oct
  3. 2023Consistency Models2 Mar
  4. 2022Elucidating the Design Space of Diffusion-Based Generative Models1 Jun
  5. 2020Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equations26 Nov
  6. 2020Denoising Diffusion Implicit Models6 Oct
  7. 2020Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Models19 Jun

Other references · 5

  1. 2015Deep Unsupervised Learning using Nonequilibrium Thermodynamicscited by 7,058
  2. 2019Generative Modeling by Estimating Gradients of the Data Distributioncited by 4,101
  3. 2021E(n) Equivariant Graph Neural Networkscited by 965
  4. 2022Equivariant Diffusion for Molecule Generation in 3Dcited by 677
  5. 2022GeoDiff: a Geometric Diffusion Model for Molecular Conformation Generationcited by 516

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2025: 1; 2026: 2.

3 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2026Diffusion-based Annealed Boltzmann Generators : benefits, pitfalls and hopes
  2. 2024Energy based diffusion generator for efficient sampling of Boltzmann distributions
  3. 2025Energy-Weighted Flow Matching: Unlocking Continuous Normalizing Flows for Efficient and Scalable Boltzmann Sampling
  4. 2026FUND: Density Flow for Sampling Unnormalised Distributions
  5. 2025Consistent Sampling and Simulation: Molecular Dynamics with Energy-Based Diffusion Models
  6. 2026Neural Transport Nested Sampling
  7. 2025Progressive Inference-Time Annealing of Diffusion Models for Sampling from Boltzmann Densities
  8. 2025Scalable Equilibrium Sampling with Sequential Boltzmann Generators