Shortest-Path Flow Matching with Mixture-Conditioned Bases for OOD Generalization to Unseen Conditions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Rubbi, Andrea, Akbarnejad, Amir, Sanian, Mohammad Vali, Parast, Aryan Yazdan, Asadollahzadeh, Hesam, Amani, Arian, Akhtar, Naveed, Cooper, Sarah, Bassett, Andrew, Liò, Pietro, Paavolainen, Lassi, Vakili, Sattar, Lotfollahi, Mo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Rubbi, Andrea
Akbarnejad, Amir
Sanian, Mohammad Vali
Parast, Aryan Yazdan
Asadollahzadeh, Hesam
Amani, Arian
Akhtar, Naveed
Cooper, Sarah
Bassett, Andrew
Liò, Pietro
Paavolainen, Lassi
Vakili, Sattar
Lotfollahi, Mo
author_facet Rubbi, Andrea
Akbarnejad, Amir
Sanian, Mohammad Vali
Parast, Aryan Yazdan
Asadollahzadeh, Hesam
Amani, Arian
Akhtar, Naveed
Cooper, Sarah
Bassett, Andrew
Liò, Pietro
Paavolainen, Lassi
Vakili, Sattar
Lotfollahi, Mo
contents Robust generalization under distribution shift remains a key challenge for conditional generative modeling: conditional flow-based methods often fit the training conditions well but fail to extrapolate to unseen ones. We introduce SP-FM, a shortest-path flow-matching framework that improves out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization by conditioning both the base distribution and the flow field on the condition. Specifically, SP-FM learns a condition-dependent base distribution parameterized as a flexible, learnable mixture, together with a condition-dependent vector field trained via shortest-path flow matching. Conditioning the base allows the model to adapt its starting distribution across conditions, enabling smooth interpolation and more reliable extrapolation beyond the observed training range. We provide theoretical insights into the resulting conditional transport and show how mixture-conditioned bases enhance robustness under shift. Empirically, SP-FM is effective across heterogeneous domains, including predicting responses to unseen perturbations in single-cell transcriptomics and modeling treatment effects in high-content microscopy--based drug screening. Overall, SP-FM provides a simple yet effective plug-in strategy for improving conditional generative modeling and OOD generalization across diverse domains.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_11827
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Shortest-Path Flow Matching with Mixture-Conditioned Bases for OOD Generalization to Unseen Conditions
Rubbi, Andrea
Akbarnejad, Amir
Sanian, Mohammad Vali
Parast, Aryan Yazdan
Asadollahzadeh, Hesam
Amani, Arian
Akhtar, Naveed
Cooper, Sarah
Bassett, Andrew
Liò, Pietro
Paavolainen, Lassi
Vakili, Sattar
Lotfollahi, Mo
Machine Learning
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
Robust generalization under distribution shift remains a key challenge for conditional generative modeling: conditional flow-based methods often fit the training conditions well but fail to extrapolate to unseen ones. We introduce SP-FM, a shortest-path flow-matching framework that improves out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization by conditioning both the base distribution and the flow field on the condition. Specifically, SP-FM learns a condition-dependent base distribution parameterized as a flexible, learnable mixture, together with a condition-dependent vector field trained via shortest-path flow matching. Conditioning the base allows the model to adapt its starting distribution across conditions, enabling smooth interpolation and more reliable extrapolation beyond the observed training range. We provide theoretical insights into the resulting conditional transport and show how mixture-conditioned bases enhance robustness under shift. Empirically, SP-FM is effective across heterogeneous domains, including predicting responses to unseen perturbations in single-cell transcriptomics and modeling treatment effects in high-content microscopy--based drug screening. Overall, SP-FM provides a simple yet effective plug-in strategy for improving conditional generative modeling and OOD generalization across diverse domains.
title Shortest-Path Flow Matching with Mixture-Conditioned Bases for OOD Generalization to Unseen Conditions
topic Machine Learning
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Image and Video Processing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11827