[Submitted on 27 Sep 2025 (v1), last revised 29 Oct 2026 (this version, v2)]
Abstract:Existing image generation models face critical challenges regarding the trade-off between computation and fidelity. Specifically, models relying on a pretrained Variational Autoencoder (VAE) suffer from information loss, limited detail, and the inability to support end-to-end training. In contrast, models operating directly in the pixel space incur prohibitive computational cost. Although cascade models can mitigate computational cost, stage-wise separation prevents effective end-to-end optimization, hampers knowledge sharing, and often results in inaccurate distribution learning within each stage. To address these challenges, we introduce a unified multi-stage generative framework formulated under the stochastic interpolant formalism with our Conditional Dependent Coupling strategy as a Flow-Matching variant. It decomposes the generative process into interpolant trajectories at multiple stages, ensuring accurate distribution learning while enabling end-to-end optimization. Importantly, the entire process is modeled as a single unified Diffusion Transformer, eliminating the need for disjoint modules and also enabling knowledge sharing. Under explicitly stated assumptions, we provably reduce both transport cost and asymptotic inference time; we empirically validate the underlying NFE-transport-cost and per-evaluation-cost relations. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method achieves competitive fidelity and substantially lower wall-clock cost in the low-NFE regime across multiple resolutions.
Submission history
From: Xi Xiao [view email]
[v1] Sat, 27 Sep 2025 05:03:08 UTC (3,522 KB)
[v2] Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:57:29 UTC (5,561 KB)
