Before Attention Sinks Form: Hidden-State Geometry Reveals and Modulates Their Formation
Attention sinks are usually studied after they have formed. We ask whether a measurable hidden-state change appears beforehand and whether changing that geometry alters what happens later. To remove network depth as a shortcut, we compare prompts in the same model and at the same layer. When sink timing varies across prompts, simple spectral summaries of the hidden states add information beyond current attention, with the clearest prompt-specific signal in a short window about two to three layers before sink formation. The predictive strength varies across cohorts, so we treat the spectrum as a readout of a pre-sink state change rather than a universal warning statistic. The signal is bro...
| Authors | Fan Yang, Yue Song |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.LG |
| Published | 12 October 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 12 October 2026 |
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