English

A Free Probabilistic Framework for Analyzing the Transformer-based Language Models

Machine Learning 2025-08-19 v3 Machine Learning

Abstract

We present a formal operator-theoretic framework for analyzing Transformer-based language models using free probability theory. By modeling token embeddings and attention mechanisms as self-adjoint operators in a tracial W W^* -probability space, we reinterpret attention as non-commutative convolution and describe representation propagation via free additive convolution. This leads to a spectral dynamic system interpretation of deep Transformers. We derive entropy-based generalization bounds under freeness assumptions and provide insight into positional encoding, spectral evolution, and representational complexity. This work offers a principled, though theoretical, perspective on structural dynamics in large language models.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.16550,
  title  = {A Free Probabilistic Framework for Analyzing the Transformer-based Language Models},
  author = {Swagatam Das},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.16550},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T03:25:36.503Z