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20232026
most citedMasked Hard-Attention Transformers Recognize Exactly the Star-Free Languages

1 citations · 1 across the 8 of their papers we have counts for

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10 papers

cs.LG2026

VC Dimension and Expressivity of Real-Valued Transformers

Gavin Dooley, Andy Yang, Yijia Jessica Zhu +3

Whereas previous results on abilities and limitations of transformers have restricted the definition of transformers in various ways, here we study softmax-attention, multi-layer t…

cs.LG2026

Length Generalization for Transformers via Compression

Georg Zetzsche, Hongjian Jiang, Andy Yang +4

Recent advancements in transformer length generalization theory enable us to reliably predict when a transformer can learn to solve a task. In particular, the C-RASP hypothesis (a…

cs.FL2026

Algebraic Decomposition Theory for Transformer Length Generalization

Andy Yang, Blerta Veseli, Corentin Barloy +5

Transformer-based language models are known to sometimes generalize to sequences longer than seen during training, but we lack a precise characterization of which tasks admit lengt…

cs.LG2026

Length Generalization Bounds for Transformers

Andy Yang, Pascal Bergsträßer, Georg Zetzsche +2

Length generalization is a key property of a learning algorithm that enables it to make correct predictions on inputs of any length, given finite training data. To provide such a g…

cs.CL2025

Probability Distributions Computed by Autoregressive Transformers

Andy Yang, Anej Svete, Jiaoda Li +4

Most expressivity results for transformers treat them as language recognizers -- devices that accept or reject strings -- rather than as they are used in practice: as language mode…

cs.LG2025

The Transformer Cookbook

Andy Yang, Christopher Watson, Anton Xue +6

We present the transformer cookbook: a collection of techniques for directly encoding algorithms into a transformer's parameters. This work addresses the steep learning curve of su…

cs.CL2025

Knee-Deep in C-RASP: A Transformer Depth Hierarchy

Andy Yang, Michaël Cadilhac, David Chiang

It has been observed that transformers with greater depth (that is, more layers) have more capabilities, but can we establish formally which capabilities are gained? We answer this…

cs.LG2024

Simulating Hard Attention Using Soft Attention

Andy Yang, Lena Strobl, David Chiang +1

We study conditions under which transformers using soft attention can simulate hard attention, that is, effectively focus all attention on a subset of positions. First, we examine…

cs.LO2024

Counting Like Transformers: Compiling Temporal Counting Logic Into Softmax Transformers

Andy Yang, David Chiang

Deriving formal bounds on the expressivity of transformers, as well as studying transformers that are constructed to implement known algorithms, are both effective methods for bett…

cs.FL2023★ 1 cited

Masked Hard-Attention Transformers Recognize Exactly the Star-Free Languages

Andy Yang, David Chiang, Dana Angluin

The expressive power of transformers over inputs of unbounded size can be studied through their ability to recognize classes of formal languages. In this paper, we establish exact…