# PulseQuant: Propagation-Guided Subspace Correction for 4-Bit Video Diffusion Transformers

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.33384 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33384/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Video generation, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 31 of its 35 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Sep 2026.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [Video generation](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/video-generation/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 31)

- [The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Deep Features as a Perceptual Metric](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1801.03924/) (2018)
- [Scalable Diffusion Models with Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.09748/) (2022)
- [Wan: Open and Advanced Large-Scale Video Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.20314/) (2025)
- [GPTQ: Accurate Post-Training Quantization for Generative Pre-trained Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.17323/) (2022)
- [VBench: Comprehensive Benchmark Suite for Video Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17982/) (2023)
- [SmoothQuant: Accurate and Efficient Post-Training Quantization for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.10438/) (2022)
- [AWQ: Activation-aware Weight Quantization for LLM Compression and Acceleration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.00978/) (2023)
- [QuaRot: Outlier-Free 4-Bit Inference in Rotated LLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.00456/) (2024)
- [Self Forcing: Bridging the Train-Test Gap in Autoregressive Video Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.08009/) (2025)
- [Up or Down? Adaptive Rounding for Post-Training Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.10568/) (2020)
- [BRECQ: Pushing the Limit of Post-Training Quantization by Block Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.05426/) (2021)
- [SpinQuant: LLM quantization with learned rotations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.16406/) (2024)
- [OmniQuant: Omnidirectionally Calibrated Quantization for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13137/) (2023)
- [QuIP#: Even Better LLM Quantization with Hadamard Incoherence and Lattice Codebooks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.04396/) (2024)
- [Q-Diffusion: Quantizing Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04304/) (2023)
- [Post-training Quantization on Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.15736/) (2022)
- [Extreme Compression of Large Language Models via Additive Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.06118/) (2024)
- [PTQD: Accurate Post-Training Quantization for Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10657/) (2023)
- [SVDQuant: Absorbing Outliers by Low-Rank Components for 4-Bit Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.05007/) (2024)
- [ViDiT-Q: Efficient and Accurate Quantization of Diffusion Transformers for Image and Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02540/) (2024)
- [SageAttention2: Efficient Attention with Thorough Outlier Smoothing and Per-thread INT4 Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.10958/) (2024)
- [Q-DiT: Accurate Post-Training Quantization for Diffusion Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.17343/) (2024)
- [Temporal Dynamic Quantization for Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.02316/) (2023)
- [TFMQ-DM: Temporal Feature Maintenance Quantization for Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16503/) (2023)
- [Towards Accurate Post-training Quantization for Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.18723/) (2023)
- [Q-VDiT: Towards Accurate Quantization and Distillation of Video-Generation Diffusion Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.22167/) (2025)
- [QVGen: Pushing the Limit of Quantized Video Generative Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11497/) (2025)
- [DVD-Quant: Data-free Video Diffusion Transformers Quantization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18663/) (2025)
- [OrbitQuant: Data-Agnostic Quantization for Image and Video Diffusion Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.02461/) (2026)
- [AccuQuant: Simulating Multiple Denoising Steps for Quantizing Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.20348/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [VDOT++: Unified Few-Step Video Generation via Unbalanced Optimal Transport Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.03221/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Quantization errors in video diffusion transformers can be amplified or attenuated by subsequent denoising updates, making local reconstruction error an incomplete predictor of final impact. We introduce PulseQuant, a 4-bit post-training quantization method that combines trajectory sensitivity with activation geometry to guide offline calibration. Isolated block--step interventions estimate propagation risk, which prioritizes sensitive trajectory states during row-radius selection. With these radii fixed, response-subspace correction uses neighboring-code edits to reduce residual components along dominant activation directions. Both stages preserve the original 4-bit weight representation. Controlled interventions show that short-horizon propagated error predicts final latent error more reliably than immediate block-output error, supporting calibration beyond local reconstruction objectives. Evaluations on Wan models, Self Forcing, and MiniMax-H3 demonstrate improvements in key consistency and dense-reference metrics while remaining competitive on other attributes across model scales and generation paradigms.