Fixed-Dimensional Latent Flow for Generating Variable-Size 3D Molecules
On the map: Diffusion models → Flow matching, time series and science
Abstract (arXiv)
Molecular size is coupled to composition, structure, and function, yet most 3D molecular generators require a predefined atom count. We introduce Equivariant-Free Transformer-Autoencoded Latent Flow Matching, a two-stage framework that samples a fixed-dimensional latent vector using flow matching and uses an autoregressive Transformer to determine molecular size, atom types, coordinates, and chemical attributes. Canonical atom ordering and rigid-pose alignment enable Transformers without equivariant layers, while decoded attributes guide bond reconstruction. On PCQM4Mv2, unconditional generation yields 87.9% unique, novel molecules passing sanitization and PoseBusters checks, exceeding baselines with lower end-to-end training and sampling time and higher end-to-end throughput. Across ten target HOMO-LUMO gaps, internal ranking retains 30% of screened candidates and increases the density functional theory-verified hit rate within 0.1 eV from 25.0% to 52.4%, while largely preserving novelty and diversity. These results demonstrate fixed-dimensional latent generation with autoregressive decoding as a practical approach to molecular design without prespecifying size.
Key facts. Cited by 1 paper in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Flow matching, time series and science, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 8 of its 48 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 8 Sep 2026.
Builds on
8 of 48 references.
Closest ancestors · 7
Same direction, newest first
- 2026Autoregressive latent diffusion for 3D molecule generation10 Jul
- 2026Permutation-Symmetrized Diffusion for Unconditional Molecular Generation24 Mar
- 2026Rethinking Diffusion Models with Symmetries through Canonicalization with Applications to Molecular Graph Generation16 Feb
- 2025NEAT: Neighborhood-Guided, Efficient, Autoregressive Set Transformer for 3D Molecular Generation5 Dec
- 2025Frame-based Equivariant Diffusion Models for 3D Molecular Generation23 Sep
- 2025Scalable Autoregressive 3D Molecule Generation20 May
- 2024Mixed Continuous and Categorical Flow Matching for 3D De Novo Molecule Generation30 Apr
Other references · 1
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Citing papers per year: 2026: 1.
1 paper.
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Close in wording, no citation either way
- 2025FlowMol3: Flow Matching for 3D De Novo Small-Molecule Generation
- 2026SinAE: A Single-Architecture Flow-Matching Autoencoder for Cross-Domain Atomic Systems
- 2026SynLaD: Latent Diffusion for Generating Synthesizable Molecules Conditioned on 3D Pharmacophore Profiles
- 2025Towards Unified and Lossless Latent Space for 3D Molecular Latent Diffusion Modeling
- 2026Property-Guided Molecular Generation and Optimization via Latent Flows
- 2024SemlaFlow -- Efficient 3D Molecular Generation with Latent Attention and Equivariant Flow Matching
- 2024Exploring Discrete Flow Matching for 3D De Novo Molecule Generation
- 2026Geometric Flow Matching for Molecular Conformation Generation via Manifold Decomposition