Six seeds snowballed (Semantic Scholar) plus logged keyword searches (OpenAlex, arXiv): 2,127 unique records, 480 title/abstract screened. AI first-pass suggestions are in their own column; decisions are pending. Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01S8KN7NuUCm8nXLmy6eDuVv
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| 1 | key | first_author | year | title | venue | ai_proposal | close_to_my_rq | model_sizes | data | question_asked | main_claim | method_varied_vs_fixed | qknorm_isolated | mup_used | lr_sweep_points_range | depth_varied | metrics | how_my_study_differs | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | arxiv:2309.14322 | Mitchell Wortsman | 2023 | Small-scale proxies for large-scale Transformer training instabilities | International Conference on Learning Representations | include [SEED*] LR-sensitivity metric; qk-layernorm at small scale | * | ||||||||||||
| 3 | arxiv:2602.02522 | George Grigorev | 2026 | IMU-1: Sample-Efficient Pre-training of Small Language Models | arXiv | include [SEED*] QK-norm largest win at 70M, bundled with muP | * | ||||||||||||
| 4 | doi:10.18653/v1/2020.findings-emnlp.379 | Alex Henry | 2020 | Query-Key Normalization for Transformers | Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: EMNLP (Findings of EMNLP) | include [SEED] origin of QK-norm (ACL anthology copy of 2010.04245) | |||||||||||||
| 5 | arxiv:2303.06296 | Shuangfei Zhai | 2023 | Stabilizing Transformer Training by Preventing Attention Entropy Collapse | arXiv | include [SEED] attention entropy collapse <-> instability | |||||||||||||
| 6 | arxiv:2302.05442 | Mostafa Dehghani | 2023 | Scaling Vision Transformers to 22 Billion Parameters | International Conference on Machine Learning | include [SEED] QK-norm popularised to stop logit growth at 22B | |||||||||||||
| 7 | arxiv:2410.16682 | Rybakov, Oleg | 2024 | Methods of improving LLM training stability | arXiv (Cornell University) | include [IC*] QK-norm + softcap -> 1.5x LR before divergence, 830M | * | ||||||||||||
| 8 | arxiv:2511.21377 | Ben Anson | 2025 | Controlling changes to attention logits | arXiv | include [IC*] QK-norm vs alternatives for logit control; LR ablations | * | ||||||||||||
| 9 | arxiv:2607.18363 | Henry Ndubuaku | 2026 | A Controlled Study of Attention-Only Transformers | arXiv | include [IC*] QK-norm keeps 48-layer stacks trainable: depth evidence (H3) | * | ||||||||||||
| 10 | arxiv:2610.34582 | Harish Santhanalakshmi Ganesan | 2026 | HobbyLM: A Sparse Mixture-of-Experts Model Family on a Hobby Budget | arXiv | include [IS*] single-variable ablations at 130M incl. QK-norm (HobbyLM) | * | ||||||||||||
| 11 | arxiv:2610.17969 | Bum Jun Kim | 2026 | Neural Dimensional Analysis: Foundations of Dimensionless and Scale-Consistent Computation | arXiv | include [IA*] compares vs QK-Norm across 16x LR range at 124M | * | ||||||||||||
| 12 | doi:10.5281/zenodo.20803082 | Shubham Kumar | 2026 | Gating and Normalization Interact in the Attention Block | Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) | include [IS*] 29-36M, QK-norm x depth x 3 seeds sweep; Zenodo preprint, check quality | * | ||||||||||||
| 13 | arxiv:2606.16310 | Yizhou Han | 2026 | QK-Normed MLA: QK normalization without full key caching | arXiv | include [IC] QK-norm permits higher LR; high-LR stress test vs QK-clip | |||||||||||||
| 14 | arxiv:2603.02170 | Jintao Zhang | 2026 | SageBwd: A Trainable Low-bit Attention | arXiv | include [IC] QK-norm necessary for stable low-bit training at large tokens/step | |||||||||||||
| 15 | arxiv:2602.05006 | Ezequiel López-Rubio | 2026 | Enhanced QKNorm normalization for neural transformers with the Lp norm | arXiv.org | include [IC] Lp-norm generalisation of QKNorm (variant) | |||||||||||||
| 16 | arxiv:2503.09543 | Oskar van der Wal | 2025 | PolyPythias: Stability and Outliers across Fifty Language Model Pre-Training Runs | International Conference on Learning Representations | include [IS] stability across 50 small-model seeds: seed-variance precedent | |||||||||||||
| 17 | arxiv:2110.09456 | Sam Shleifer | 2021 | NormFormer: Improved Transformer Pretraining with Extra Normalization | arXiv.org | include [IA] NormFormer: extra normalisation | |||||||||||||
| 18 | arxiv:2312.16903 | Sho Takase | 2023 | Spike No More: Stabilizing the Pre-training of Large Language Models | arXiv.org | include [IA] pretraining loss-spike mitigation | |||||||||||||
| 19 | arxiv:2503.04598 | Zhijian Zhuo | 2025 | HybridNorm: Towards Stable and Efficient Transformer Training via Hybrid Normalization | Neural Information Processing Systems | include [IA] HybridNorm: normalisation placement neighbour | |||||||||||||
| 20 | arxiv:2502.02732 | Jeonghoon Kim | 2025 | Peri-LN: Revisiting Normalization Layer in the Transformer Architecture | International Conference on Machine Learning | include [IA] Peri-LN: normalisation placement neighbour | |||||||||||||
| 21 | arxiv:2507.20534 | Kimi Team Yifan Bai | 2025 | Kimi K2: Open Agentic Intelligence | include [IA] MuonClip/QK-clip: alternative fix for attention-logit explosion | ||||||||||||||
| 22 | arxiv:2602.01212 | Marco Chen | 2026 | SimpleGPT: Improving GPT via A Simple Normalization Strategy | arXiv.org | include [IA] SimpleGPT normalisation vs LLaMA2+QKNorm, LR ablations | |||||||||||||
| 23 | arxiv:2304.13013 | Mitchell Wortsman | 2023 | Stable and low-precision training for large-scale vision-language models | Neural Information Processing Systems | include [IM] Wortsman et al. follow-up on instability | |||||||||||||
| 24 | arxiv:2410.10781 | Xiangming Gu | 2024 | When Attention Sink Emerges in Language Models: An Empirical View | International Conference on Learning Representations | include [IM] when attention sinks emerge (seed paper ref) | |||||||||||||
| 25 | arxiv:2402.17762 | Mingjie Sun | 2024 | Massive Activations in Large Language Models | arXiv.org | include [IM] massive activations -> attention sinks | |||||||||||||
| 26 | arxiv:2402.02098 | Han Bao | 2024 | Self-attention Networks Localize When QK-eigenspectrum Concentrates | International Conference on Machine Learning | include [IM] QK eigenspectrum concentration and entropy collapse | |||||||||||||
| 27 | arxiv:2505.15548 | Suvadeep Hajra | 2025 | Dense Local Dependencies Induce Attention-Logit Explosion and Training Instability During Long-Sequence Transformer Training | arXiv | include [IM] dense local dependencies -> attention-logit explosion | |||||||||||||
| 28 | arxiv:2505.21910 | Xianbiao Qi | 2025 | Taming Transformer Without Using Learning Rate Warmup | arXiv | include [IM] W_q^T W_k spectral concentration -> entropy collapse, warmup | |||||||||||||
| 29 | arxiv:2505.24333 | Alessio Giorlandino | 2025 | Two failure modes of deep transformers and how to avoid them: a unified theory of signal propagation at initialisation | arXiv | include [IM] rank vs entropy collapse in deep transformers (depth) | |||||||||||||
| 30 | doi:10.48448/nht8-e622 | Association for Computational Linguistics 2025 | 2025 | Variance Sensitivity Induces Attention Entropy Collapse and Instability in Transformers | Underline Science Inc. | include [IM] variance sensitivity -> attention entropy collapse | |||||||||||||
| 31 | arxiv:2502.05795 | Wenfang Sun | 2025 | The Curse of Depth in Large Language Models | Neural Information Processing Systems | include [IM] depth effects in LLMs (H3 context) | |||||||||||||
| 32 | arxiv:2608.14712 | Marios Papamichalis | 2026 | Which Question Is Your Attention Metric Answering? Attention Rows as Compositional Data | include [IM] how to measure attention entropy properly (metric choice) | ||||||||||||||
| 33 | arxiv:2002.04745 | Ruibin Xiong | 2020 | On Layer Normalization in the Transformer Architecture | International Conference on Machine Learning | include [BG] Pre-LN vs Post-LN, warmup and LR (2020) | |||||||||||||
| 34 | arxiv:2203.03466 | Greg Yang | 2022 | Tensor Programs V: Tuning Large Neural Networks via Zero-Shot Hyperparameter Transfer | arXiv.org | include [BG] muP: the confound held OFF | |||||||||||||
| 35 | arxiv:2501.18795 | Bowen Yang | 2025 | Rope to Nope and Back Again: A New Hybrid Attention Strategy | arXiv | maybe [IC] RoPE/NoPE/QK-norm attention patterns, long context focus | |||||||||||||
| 36 | arxiv:2603.11611 | Mohammad Aflah Khan | 2026 | Fractional Rotation, Full Potential? Investigating Performance and Convergence of Partial RoPE | arXiv | maybe [IC] NoPE loss spikes mitigated by QK-norm (side finding) | |||||||||||||
| 37 | arxiv:2608.30320 | Zi-Han Qiu | 2026 | On the Design of Qwen3.8-Next Architecture: Evaluation, Efficiency, and Training Stability | maybe [IC] industry architecture study incl. training stability | ||||||||||||||
| 38 | arxiv:2609.14715 | Dushyant Rajput | 2026 | Depth and Scale in the Sub-150M Regime: JugnuLM-53M vs JugnuLM-110M | arXiv | maybe [IS] sub-150M depth study (QK-norm fixed, not varied) | |||||||||||||
| 39 | doi:10.5281/zenodo.18924690 | Hang Lu | 2026 | Modernizing GPT-2-Scale Models Under a 10B-Token Training Budget | Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) | maybe [IS] GPT-2-scale modernisation incl. QK-norm; Zenodo, check quality | |||||||||||||
| 40 | arxiv:2507.13338 | Laker Newhouse | 2025 | Training Transformers with Enforced Lipschitz Constants | arXiv | maybe [IA] Lipschitz transformers trained without QK-norm/softcap | |||||||||||||
| 41 | arxiv:2505.22014 | Jörg K. H. Franke | 2025 | Learning in Compact Spaces with Approximately Normalized Transformer | arXiv | maybe [IA] approx. normalised transformer vs GPT+QK-norm convergence | |||||||||||||
| 42 | arxiv:2503.10622 | Jia-Cheng Zhu | 2025 | Transformers without Normalization | Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition | maybe [IA] DyT replaces norm layers | |||||||||||||
| 43 | arxiv:2601.02031 | Felix Stollenwerk | 2026 | Output Embedding Centering for Stable LLM Pretraining | arXiv.org | maybe [IA] output-logit divergence; z-loss / softcap context | |||||||||||||
| 44 | arxiv:2309.17453 | Guang-Xuan Xiao | 2023 | Efficient Streaming Language Models with Attention Sinks | International Conference on Learning Representations | maybe [IM] attention sinks (inference paper, mechanism background) | |||||||||||||
| 45 | arxiv:2410.13835 | Tian-Yu Guo | 2024 | Active-Dormant Attention Heads: Mechanistically Demystifying Extreme-Token Phenomena in LLMs | arXiv.org | maybe [IM] extreme-token phenomena mechanism | |||||||||||||
| 46 | arxiv:2501.12352 | Ke Alexander Wang | 2025 | Test-time regression: a unifying framework for designing sequence models with associative memory | arXiv | maybe [IM] theory justifying QK-norm (test-time regression view) | |||||||||||||
| 47 | arxiv:2502.00919 | Stephen Zhang | 2025 | Attention Sinks: A 'Catch, Tag, Release' Mechanism for Embeddings | arXiv | maybe [IM] attention sinks persist with QK-norm | |||||||||||||
| 48 | arxiv:2510.22026 | Nikita Karagodin | 2025 | Normalization in Attention Dynamics | Neural Information Processing Systems | maybe [IM] normalisation in attention dynamics | |||||||||||||
| 49 | arxiv:2608.02091 | Shuxiao Xie | 2026 | One QK Channel, Many Sources: Tracing Low-Precision Attention Collapse | arXiv | maybe [IM] low-precision attention collapse; QK-norm disrupts it | |||||||||||||
| 50 | arxiv:2609.34272 | Jun-Lin Chen | 2026 | Broken Symmetry in BF16 Attention: Why FlashAttention Gradients Blow Up Late in Training | maybe [IM] BF16 attention gradients; logit growth late in training | ||||||||||||||
| 51 | arxiv:2606.28116 | Rui-Xuan Huang | 2026 | Mechanism-Aligned Observability for Training Instability of Large Language Models | maybe [IM] instability diagnostics; possible metrics | ||||||||||||||
| 52 | arxiv:2601.22966 | Zihan Qiu | 2026 | A Unified View of Attention and Residual Sinks: Outlier-Driven Rescaling is Essential for Transformer Training | arXiv (Cornell University) | maybe [IM] attention + residual sinks, outlier rescaling | |||||||||||||
| 53 | arxiv:2602.18849 | S. Emadi | 2026 | Exact Attention Sensitivity and the Geometry of Transformer Stability | arXiv.org | maybe [IM] attention sensitivity and stability geometry | |||||||||||||
| 54 | arxiv:2304.03208 | Nolan Dey | 2023 | Cerebras-GPT: Open Compute-Optimal Language Models Trained on the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Cluster | arXiv.org | maybe [BG] muP in small open models | |||||||||||||
| 55 | arxiv:2407.07972 | Rosie Zhao | 2024 | Deconstructing What Makes a Good Optimizer for Language Models | International Conference on Learning Representations | maybe [BG] LR stability across optimisers, small LMs | |||||||||||||
| 56 | arxiv:2405.13698 | Xi Wang | 2024 | How to set AdamW's weight decay as you scale model and dataset size | International Conference on Machine Learning | maybe [BG] AdamW hyperparameters vs scale | |||||||||||||
| 57 | arxiv:2510.19093 | Atli Kosson | 2025 | Weight Decay may matter more than muP for Learning Rate Transfer in Practice | arXiv.org | maybe [BG] LR transfer without muP | |||||||||||||
| 58 | arxiv:2505.01618 | Nolan Dey | 2025 | Don't be lazy: CompleteP enables compute-efficient deep transformers | Neural Information Processing Systems | maybe [BG] depth-wise parametrisation, LR across depth | |||||||||||||
| 59 | arxiv:2608.24814 | Zi-Han Liu | 2026 | Effective Learning Rate Governs Loss Dynamics in Language Model Pretraining | maybe [BG] effective LR view of loss dynamics |