Towards Theoretical Understanding of Transformer Test-Time Computing: Investigation on In-Context Linear Regression

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Chen, Xingwu, Lu, Miao, Wu, Beining, Zou, Difan
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Chen, Xingwu
Lu, Miao
Wu, Beining
Zou, Difan
author_facet Chen, Xingwu
Lu, Miao
Wu, Beining
Zou, Difan
contents Using more test-time computation during language model inference, such as generating more intermediate thoughts or sampling multiple candidate answers, has proven effective in significantly improving model performance. This paper takes an initial step toward bridging the gap between practical language model inference and theoretical transformer analysis by incorporating randomness and sampling. We focus on in-context linear regression with continuous/binary coefficients, where our framework simulates language model decoding through noise injection and binary coefficient sampling. Through this framework, we provide detailed analyses of widely adopted inference techniques. Supported by empirical results, our theoretical framework and analysis demonstrate the potential for offering new insights into understanding inference behaviors in real-world language models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_07571
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Towards Theoretical Understanding of Transformer Test-Time Computing: Investigation on In-Context Linear Regression
Chen, Xingwu
Lu, Miao
Wu, Beining
Zou, Difan
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Using more test-time computation during language model inference, such as generating more intermediate thoughts or sampling multiple candidate answers, has proven effective in significantly improving model performance. This paper takes an initial step toward bridging the gap between practical language model inference and theoretical transformer analysis by incorporating randomness and sampling. We focus on in-context linear regression with continuous/binary coefficients, where our framework simulates language model decoding through noise injection and binary coefficient sampling. Through this framework, we provide detailed analyses of widely adopted inference techniques. Supported by empirical results, our theoretical framework and analysis demonstrate the potential for offering new insights into understanding inference behaviors in real-world language models.
title Towards Theoretical Understanding of Transformer Test-Time Computing: Investigation on In-Context Linear Regression
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.07571