Adapting Noise to Data: Generative Flows from Learned 1D Processes

The default Gaussian latent in flow-based generative models poses challenges when learning certain distributions such as heavy-tailed ones. We introduce a general framework for learning data-adaptive latent distributions using one-dimensional quantile functions, optimized via the Wasserstein distance between noise and data. The quantile-based parameterization naturally adapts to both heavy-tailed and compactly supported distributions and shortens transport paths. Numerical results confirm the method’s flexibility and effectiveness achieved with negligible computational overhead.