Asymptotic Behavior of Transformers

Abstract

In this paper we study the behavior of transformer networks generating text over long periods of time. We show that even a three-token, single-layer attention-only transformer can fail to converge. We then study a rich class of transformers with arbitrary finite depth, layer normalization, MLPs, RoPE encodings, and an arbitrary mix of local and global layers. Every transformer in this class has a softmax temperature threshold above which its empirical cache distribution converges to a unique limit, independent of initial conditions. We show further that, while each transformer has a temperature threshold, the supremum of this set is infinite, so there is no global minimal temperature that forces all transformers to converge.