Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Torbunov, Dmitrii, Ren, Yihui, Wu, Lijun, Zhu, Yimei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.17224
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914277098520576
author Torbunov, Dmitrii
Ren, Yihui
Wu, Lijun
Zhu, Yimei
author_facet Torbunov, Dmitrii
Ren, Yihui
Wu, Lijun
Zhu, Yimei
contents Uncertainty quantification is critical in scientific inverse problems to distinguish identifiable parameters from those that remain ambiguous given available measurements. The Conditional Diffusion Model-based Inverse Problem Solver (CDI) has previously demonstrated effective probabilistic inference for one-dimensional temporal signals, but its applicability to higher-dimensional spatial data remains unexplored. We extend CDI to two-dimensional spatial conditioning, enabling probabilistic parameter inference directly from spatial observations. We validate this extension on convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) parameter inference - a challenging multi-parameter inverse problem in materials characterization where sample geometry, electronic structure, and thermal properties must be extracted from 2D diffraction patterns. Using simulated CBED data with ground-truth parameters, we demonstrate that CDI produces well-calibrated posterior distributions that accurately reflect measurement constraints: tight distributions for well-determined quantities and appropriately broad distributions for ambiguous parameters. In contrast, standard regression methods - while appearing accurate on aggregate metrics - mask this underlying uncertainty by predicting training set means for poorly constrained parameters. Our results confirm that CDI successfully extends from temporal to spatial domains, providing the genuine uncertainty information required for robust scientific inference.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_17224
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Parameter Inference and Uncertainty Quantification with Diffusion Models: Extending CDI to 2D Spatial Conditioning
Torbunov, Dmitrii
Ren, Yihui
Wu, Lijun
Zhu, Yimei
Machine Learning
Uncertainty quantification is critical in scientific inverse problems to distinguish identifiable parameters from those that remain ambiguous given available measurements. The Conditional Diffusion Model-based Inverse Problem Solver (CDI) has previously demonstrated effective probabilistic inference for one-dimensional temporal signals, but its applicability to higher-dimensional spatial data remains unexplored. We extend CDI to two-dimensional spatial conditioning, enabling probabilistic parameter inference directly from spatial observations. We validate this extension on convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED) parameter inference - a challenging multi-parameter inverse problem in materials characterization where sample geometry, electronic structure, and thermal properties must be extracted from 2D diffraction patterns. Using simulated CBED data with ground-truth parameters, we demonstrate that CDI produces well-calibrated posterior distributions that accurately reflect measurement constraints: tight distributions for well-determined quantities and appropriately broad distributions for ambiguous parameters. In contrast, standard regression methods - while appearing accurate on aggregate metrics - mask this underlying uncertainty by predicting training set means for poorly constrained parameters. Our results confirm that CDI successfully extends from temporal to spatial domains, providing the genuine uncertainty information required for robust scientific inference.
title Parameter Inference and Uncertainty Quantification with Diffusion Models: Extending CDI to 2D Spatial Conditioning
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.17224