mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

Path-independent Flow Matching for Multi-parameter Generative Dynamics

arXiv 2605.13487 ↗First posted 13 May 2026cs.LGcited by 0

On the map: Diffusion models → Flow matching, time series and science

Abstract (arXiv)

Flow Matching is a powerful framework for learning transport maps between probability distributions. Yet its standard single-parameter formulation is not designed to capture multi-parameter variations where the resulting transport should be path-independent. Path independence is crucial because it ensures that transformations depend only on the initial and target distributions, not on the specific path. In this work, we introduce Path-independent Flow Matching (PiFM), a method for learning vector fields whose induced flows yield path-independent transport between distributions. We show that PiFM generalizes Flow Matching to higher-dimensional parameter domains while enforcing structural conditions that ensure consistency of composed transformations. In addition, we show that, under suitable assumptions, PiFM approximates the Wasserstein barycenter, linking the framework to a notion of distributional interpolation. To enable practical training, we propose a tractable, simulation-free objective that regresses onto multi-parameter conditional probability paths. We showcase empirically that PiFM outperforms other approaches on both synthetic and real world data in interpolating path-independent trajectories and generating desired out of distribution samples.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Flow matching, time series and science, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 26 of its 42 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 13 May 2026.

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26 of 42 references.

Closest ancestors · 5

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2025Curly Flow Matching for Learning Non-gradient Field Dynamics30 Oct
  2. 2024Meta Flow Matching: Integrating Vector Fields on the Wasserstein Manifold26 Aug
  3. 2023Flow Matching on General Geometries7 Feb
  4. 2023Improving and generalizing flow-based generative models with minibatch optimal transport1 Feb
  5. 2022Rectified Flow: A Marginal Preserving Approach to Optimal Transport29 Sep

Other references · 21

  1. 2020Denoising Diffusion Probabilistic Modelscited by 20,851
  2. 2020Score-Based Generative Modeling through Stochastic Differential Equationscited by 8,964
  3. 2018Neural Ordinary Differential Equationscited by 3,733
  4. 2014Deep Learning Face Attributes in the Wildcited by 3,679
  5. 2013Sinkhorn Distances: Lightspeed Computation of Optimal Transportation Distancescited by 2,277
  6. 2019An Introduction to Variational Autoencoderscited by 997
  7. 2022Building Normalizing Flows with Stochastic Interpolantscited by 964
  8. 2021Diffusion Schr"odinger Bridge with Applications to Score-Based Generative Modelingcited by 594
  9. 2018FFJORD: Free-form Continuous Dynamics for Scalable Reversible Generative Modelscited by 584
  10. 2013A survey of the Schr"odinger problem and some of its connections with optimal transportcited by 286
  11. 2013Fast Computation of Wasserstein Barycenterscited by 216
  12. 2022An optimal control perspective on diffusion-based generative modelingcited by 145
9 more
  1. 2021Unbalanced minibatch Optimal Transport; applications to Domain Adaptationcited by 123
  2. 2023Simulation-free Schr"odinger bridges via score and flow matchingcited by 81
  3. 2022Statistical Efficiency of Score Matching: The View from Isoperimetrycited by 63
  4. 2014Multi-marginal optimal transport: theory and applicationscited by 41
  5. 2019Multi-marginal Wasserstein GANcited by 32
  6. 2022Compositional Learning of Dynamical System Models Using Port-Hamiltonian Neural Networkscited by 17
  7. 2023Multimarginal generative modeling with stochastic interpolantscited by 17
  8. 2021Unbalanced Multi-Marginal Optimal Transportcited by 11
  9. 2024Scene Graph Disentanglement and Composition for Generalizable Complex Image Generationcited by 11

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  3. 2025Generative Modeling with Continuous Flows: Sample Complexity of Flow Matching
  4. 2026ODE-free Neural Flow Matching for One-Step Generative Modeling
  5. 2025A Theoretical Analysis of Discrete Flow Matching Generative Models
  6. 2024Optimal Flow Matching: Learning Straight Trajectories in Just One Step
  7. 2024Local Flow Matching Generative Models
  8. 2026Path-Guided Flow Matching for Dataset Distillation