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Volume 15, Issue 4
Mathematical Analysis of Singularities in the Diffusion Model Under the Submanifold Assumption

Yubin Lu, Zhongjian Wang & Guillaume Bal

East Asian J. Appl. Math., 15 (2025), pp. 669-700.

Published online: 2025-06

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  • Abstract

This paper concerns the mathematical analyses of the diffusion model in machine learning. The drift term of the backward sampling process is represented as a conditional expectation involving the data distribution and the forward diffusion. The training process aims to find such a drift function by minimizing the mean-squared residue related to the conditional expectation. Using small-time approximations of the Green’s function of the forward diffusion, we show that the analytical mean drift function in DDPM and the score function in SGM asymptotically blow up in the final stages of the sampling process for singular data distributions such as those concentrated on lower-dimensional manifolds, and are therefore difficult to approximate by a network. To overcome this difficulty, we derive a new target function and associated loss, which remains bounded even for singular data distributions. We validate the theoretical findings with several numerical examples.

  • AMS Subject Headings

68T07, 62G07, 60H10, 35B40, 35Q84

  • Copyright

COPYRIGHT: © Global Science Press

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@Article{EAJAM-15-669, author = {Lu , YubinWang , Zhongjian and Bal , Guillaume}, title = {Mathematical Analysis of Singularities in the Diffusion Model Under the Submanifold Assumption}, journal = {East Asian Journal on Applied Mathematics}, year = {2025}, volume = {15}, number = {4}, pages = {669--700}, abstract = {

This paper concerns the mathematical analyses of the diffusion model in machine learning. The drift term of the backward sampling process is represented as a conditional expectation involving the data distribution and the forward diffusion. The training process aims to find such a drift function by minimizing the mean-squared residue related to the conditional expectation. Using small-time approximations of the Green’s function of the forward diffusion, we show that the analytical mean drift function in DDPM and the score function in SGM asymptotically blow up in the final stages of the sampling process for singular data distributions such as those concentrated on lower-dimensional manifolds, and are therefore difficult to approximate by a network. To overcome this difficulty, we derive a new target function and associated loss, which remains bounded even for singular data distributions. We validate the theoretical findings with several numerical examples.

}, issn = {2079-7370}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.4208/eajam.2024-158.280924}, url = {http://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/eajam/24192.html} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Mathematical Analysis of Singularities in the Diffusion Model Under the Submanifold Assumption AU - Lu , Yubin AU - Wang , Zhongjian AU - Bal , Guillaume JO - East Asian Journal on Applied Mathematics VL - 4 SP - 669 EP - 700 PY - 2025 DA - 2025/06 SN - 15 DO - http://doi.org/10.4208/eajam.2024-158.280924 UR - https://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/eajam/24192.html KW - Generative model, singularities, Green’s kernel, adaptive time-stepping, low-dimensional manifold. AB -

This paper concerns the mathematical analyses of the diffusion model in machine learning. The drift term of the backward sampling process is represented as a conditional expectation involving the data distribution and the forward diffusion. The training process aims to find such a drift function by minimizing the mean-squared residue related to the conditional expectation. Using small-time approximations of the Green’s function of the forward diffusion, we show that the analytical mean drift function in DDPM and the score function in SGM asymptotically blow up in the final stages of the sampling process for singular data distributions such as those concentrated on lower-dimensional manifolds, and are therefore difficult to approximate by a network. To overcome this difficulty, we derive a new target function and associated loss, which remains bounded even for singular data distributions. We validate the theoretical findings with several numerical examples.

Lu , YubinWang , Zhongjian and Bal , Guillaume. (2025). Mathematical Analysis of Singularities in the Diffusion Model Under the Submanifold Assumption. East Asian Journal on Applied Mathematics. 15 (4). 669-700. doi:10.4208/eajam.2024-158.280924
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