arXiv:2509.22007cs.LG2025-09中稿 · ICLR被引 13

揭示扩散模型中无分类器引导的三阶段动态,解释为何强引导会降低多样性。

Stage-wise Dynamics of Classifier-Free Guidance in Diffusion Models

  • 将引导过程分为方向转移、模式分离和集中收缩三阶段,揭示动态机制。
  • 强引导早期削弱全局多样性,晚期抑制细节变化,与实验一致。
  • 提出随时间变化的引导策略,同时提升生成质量和多样性。

无分类器引导(CFG)广泛用于提升扩散模型的条件保真度,但其对采样动态的影响仍不清晰。以往研究多限于单峰条件分布或简化情形,仅提供局部图景。本文在多峰条件下分析CFG,发现采样过程分为三个连续阶段:在方向转移阶段,引导加速向加权均值移动,引入初始化偏差与范数增长;在模式分离阶段,局部动态基本保持中性,但继承的偏差抑制弱模式,降低全局多样性;在集中阶段,引导放大模内收缩,减少细粒度变化。这一统一视角解释了普遍现象:更强引导虽提升语义一致性,却必然牺牲多样性。实验验证预测:早期强引导侵蚀全局多样性,后期强引导抑制细粒度变异。此外,理论自然推导出时间可变引导调度,实证表明其持续提升质量与多样性。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Classifier-Free Guidance (CFG) is widely used to improve conditional fidelity in diffusion models, but its impact on sampling dynamics remains poorly understood. Prior studies, often restricted to unimodal conditional distributions or simplified cases, provide only a partial picture. We analyze CFG under multimodal conditionals and show that the sampling process unfolds in three successive stages. In the Direction Shift stage, guidance accelerates movement toward the weighted mean, introducing initialization bias and norm growth. In the Mode Separation stage, local dynamics remain largely neutral, but the inherited bias suppresses weaker modes, reducing global diversity. In the Concentration stage, guidance amplifies within-mode contraction, diminishing fine-grained variability. This unified view explains a widely observed phenomenon: stronger guidance improves semantic alignment but inevitably reduces diversity. Experiments support these predictions, showing that early strong guidance erodes global diversity, while late strong guidance suppresses fine-grained variation. Moreover, our theory naturally suggests a time-varying guidance schedule, and empirical results confirm that it consistently improves both quality and diversity.

扩散模型生成质量引导机制多样性

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