Everything at Every Scale: Scale-Invariant Diffusion with Continuous Super-Resolution
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Abstract (arXiv)
Creating images from noise is image generation; reconstructing fine details from coarse inputs is super-resolution. Despite their practical differences, both can be understood as reversing information loss across scales. We introduce SKILD, a Scale-invariant K-Space Image Learning Diffusion model that unifies generation and continuous super-resolution within a single unconditional framework. Both natural images and critical physical systems exhibit scale invariance, and we leverage it to design a forward process that attenuates image content from fine to coarse scales while injecting spectrum-matched Gaussian noise, making scale an explicit coordinate of the diffusion dynamics. The same trained reverse process performs generation and continuous super-resolution by varying only the starting timestep: textitno task-specific architecture, no conditioning branch, no classifier-free guidance, no retraining per scale factor. Empirically, SKILD reaches FID 2.65 and Inception Score 9.63 on unconditional CIFAR-10, performs 2×--8× super-resolution on ImageNet from a single unconditional checkpoint while outperforming conditional models across perceptual metrics, and reconstructs critical Ising models whose connected four-point correlations closely track the ground truth.
Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 40 of its 65 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 25 May 2026.
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40 of 65 references.
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28 more
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