Compress LLMs by 20-30% in width while preserving functionality through optimal transport-based neuron merging. Instead of discarding neurons, redistribute their signal to retained neurons via learned transport maps. Use when you need to reduce model size with minimal accuracy loss and measurable computational speedup.
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Compress LLMs by 20-30% in width while preserving functionality through optimal transport-based neuron merging. Instead of discarding neurons, redistribute their signal to retained neurons via learned transport maps. Use when you need to reduce model size with minimal accuracy loss and measurable computational speedup.
DOTResize: Optimal Transport-Based Neuron Merging for LLM Compression
Traditional pruning discards low-importance neurons, wasting the signal they carry. DOTResize reframes width reduction as a discrete optimal transport problem: instead of deletion, the method computes optimal mappings from full-width neurons to a reduced subset, redistributing information through learned transformation matrices. This approach preserves functional equivalence by leveraging QR decomposition to maintain RMSNorm invariance in Transformers.
The key innovation is computing transport maps based on neuron activation similarities, then using QR factorization to decompose the transport matrix into components that preserve normalization properties in residual networks. This enables dropping 20-30% of neurons with measurable real-world speedup rather than just parameter reduction.
Core Concept
The method optimizes a discrete optimal transport problem where source neurons map to target neurons based on activation correlations. The Sinkhorn algorithm with entropy regularization solves this efficiently. A critical insight is that orthogonal mappings preserve RMSNorm, but more general transport maps require QR decomposition: decompose the transport matrix T = QR where Q is orthogonal (preserves norm) and R handles scaling.
The learned transformation pairs are then applied at sublayer outputs and absorbed into adjacent weight matrices, allowing the model to function with fewer neurons without retraining the LLM backbone.
Architecture Overview
Transport Map Computation: Sinkhorn-regularized optimization minimizing pairwise activation distances with entropy constraint, computing optimal assignment of source to target neurons
QR Decomposition Module: Factorizes transport matrix T into orthogonal Q and upper triangular R for norm preservation across RMSNorm layers
Attention Transformation: Applies paired transformations {M_A, M_A^inv} at attention sublayer outputs, absorbing into Q,K,V projections
Feed-Forward Transformation: Applies paired transformations {M_F, M_F^inv} at FFN outputs, absorbing into down-projection weights
Calibration-based Optimization: Uses small calibration dataset to compute accurate transport maps without full retraining
Implementation
Transport Map Computation via Sinkhorn Algorithm
The Sinkhorn algorithm solves the optimal transport problem with entropy regularization, balancing accuracy and computational efficiency.
import torch
import torch.nn.functional as F
from scipy.optimize linear_sum_assignment
:
():
.source_dim = source_dim
.target_dim = target_dim
.lambda_reg = regularization_lambda
():
batch_size, source_dim = source_activations.shape
_, target_dim = target_activations.shape
source_norm = F.normalize(source_activations, p=, dim=)
target_norm = F.normalize(target_activations, p=, dim=)
cost = torch.zeros(source_dim, target_dim)
i (source_dim):
j (target_dim):
cost[i, j] = torch.(source_norm[:, i:i+] - target_norm[:, j:j+]).()
cost
():
source_dim, target_dim = cost_matrix.shape
device = cost_matrix.device
T = torch.ones(source_dim, target_dim, device=device) / target_dim
K = torch.exp(-.lambda_reg * cost_matrix)
a = torch.ones(source_dim, device=device) / source_dim
b = torch.ones(target_dim, device=device) / target_dim
iteration (num_iterations):
u = a / (K @ torch.ones(target_dim, device=device) + )
v = b / (K.T @ u + )
T = u.unsqueeze() * K * v.unsqueeze()
iteration % == :
marginal_err = torch.(T.(dim=) - a).()
marginal_err < tolerance:
T
():
cost = .compute_cost_matrix(source_acts, target_acts)
transport_map = .sinkhorn_algorithm(cost)
transport_map
"""
Compute pairwise L1 distances between source and target neuron activations.
Args:
source_activations: (calib_samples, source_dim) from full model
target_activations: (calib_samples, target_dim) from reduced model
Returns:
cost_matrix: (source_dim, target_dim) pairwise L1 distances
"""
"""
Solve optimal transport via Sinkhorn-Knopp algorithm with entropy regularization.
Minimizes: <T, C> - λ*H(T)
where H(T) = -∑T_ij log(T_ij) is entropy, encouraging soft assignment.
Args:
cost_matrix: (source_dim, target_dim) cost matrix
num_iterations: iterations of Sinkhorn algorithm
tolerance: convergence threshold
Returns:
transport_matrix: (source_dim, target_dim) soft assignment matrix
"""
# Initialize with uniform probabilities
# Entropy regularization constant
self
# Margin constraints (how much from each source)
# How much to each target (uniform)
for
in
range
# Sinkhorn scaling iterations
1e-8
1e-8
1
0
# Check convergence
if
10
0
abs
sum
1
max
if
break
return
def
compute_transport_map
self, source_acts, target_acts
"""
Compute optimal transport mapping from source to target neurons.
"""
self
self
return
The Sinkhorn algorithm efficiently finds soft assignments that balance cost minimization with smoothness, avoiding hard assignments that cause gradient issues.
QR Decomposition for RMSNorm Preservation
Transport maps preserve functional equivalence by decomposing into orthogonal and scaling components.
defqr_decomposed_transport(transport_matrix):
"""
Decompose transport matrix T = QR for norm preservation.
Q (orthogonal) preserves norms through RMSNorm layers.
R (upper triangular) handles scaling adjustments.
Args:
transport_matrix: (source_dim, target_dim) optimal transport matrix
Returns:
Q: (source_dim, target_dim) orthogonal component
R: (target_dim, target_dim) upper triangular scaling
"""# PyTorch QR decomposition
Q, R = torch.linalg.qr(transport_matrix)
# Q is orthogonal: preserves norms, safe for RMSNorm# R is upper triangular: handles dimension reduction scalingreturn Q, R
defapply_transport_with_qr(hidden_states, transport_matrix):
"""
Apply transport mapping while preserving norm properties.
Args:
hidden_states: (batch, seq_len, source_dim)
transport_matrix: (source_dim, target_dim)
Returns:
transformed: (batch, seq_len, target_dim) with norm properties preserved
"""
Q, R = qr_decomposed_transport(transport_matrix)
# Apply orthogonal transformation (preserves norm)
transformed = hidden_states @ Q # (batch, seq_len, target_dim)# Scale by inverse of R to maintain activation magnitudes# R is upper triangular, compute R^-1 efficiently
R_inv = torch.linalg.inv(R)
scaled = transformed @ R_inv
return scaled
Integration into Transformer Blocks
Apply transformations at attention and FFN layer boundaries, absorbing matrices into adjacent weights.
classCompressedAttentionBlock(torch.nn.Module):
def__init__(self, original_attention, transport_map_attention):
super().__init__()
self.attention = original_attention
self.transport_map = transport_map_attention
self.Q_att, self.R_att = qr_decomposed_transport(transport_map_attention)
defforward(self, hidden_states):
# Original attention computation
attn_output = self.attention(hidden_states) # (batch, seq, orig_dim)# Apply transport mapping at output
compressed = attn_output @ self.Q_att # (batch, seq, target_dim)# Store for inverse application in feed-forward (skip connection)return compressed
classCompressedFFNBlock(torch.nn.Module):
def__init__(self, original_ffn, transport_map_ffn):
super().__init__()
self.ffn = original_ffn
self.transport_map = transport_map_ffn
self.Q_ffn, self.R_ffn = qr_decomposed_transport(transport_map_ffn)
defforward(self, hidden_states):
# Original FFN computation
ffn_output = self.ffn(hidden_states) # (batch, seq, orig_dim)# Apply transport mapping
compressed = ffn_output @ self.Q_ffn # (batch, seq, target_dim)return compressed
defabsorb_transport_into_weights(layer, transport_map, position='output'):
"""
Absorb transformation matrix into layer weights for efficient inference.
Args:
layer: torch.nn.Linear layer to modify
transport_map: (source_dim, target_dim) transport matrix
position: 'input' or 'output' where to apply transformation
Returns:
Modified layer with absorbed transformation
"""
Q, R = qr_decomposed_transport(transport_map)
if position == 'output':
# Modify weight: W_new = W_old @ Q @ R^-1
R_inv = torch.linalg.inv(R)
layer.weight = torch.nn.Parameter(
layer.weight @ Q @ R_inv
)
layer.out_features = Q.shape[1]
elif position == 'input':
# Modify weight: W_new = Q @ R @ W_old
layer.weight = torch.nn.Parameter(
Q @ R @ layer.weight
)
layer.in_features = Q.shape[0]
return layer
Calibration-Based Optimization Workflow
Use a small calibration dataset to compute transport maps without full retraining.
defcompress_llm_with_optimal_transport(
model,
calibration_data,
target_width_ratio=0.75, # Keep 75% of neurons
calibration_samples=128):
"""
Compress LLM using optimal transport without retraining.
Args:
model: Original LLM model
calibration_data: Small dataset (128-256 sequences) for calibration
target_width_ratio: Fraction of neurons to retain
calibration_samples: Tokens to use for activation collection
Returns:
Compressed model with transport maps absorbed
"""
device = next(model.parameters()).device
compressor = OptimalTransportCompressor(regularization_lambda=0.1)
# Collect activations on calibration data
model.eval()
all_source_acts = []
all_target_acts = []
with torch.no_grad():
for batch in calibration_data:
input_ids = batch['input_ids'].to(device)
# Forward pass, collecting layer outputs
outputs = model(input_ids, output_hidden_states=True)
hidden_states = outputs.hidden_states
all_source_acts.append(hidden_states[-1].reshape(-1, hidden_states[-1].shape[-1]))
source_activations = torch.cat(all_source_acts, dim=0)[:calibration_samples]
# Determine target dimension
source_dim = source_activations.shape[1]
target_dim = int(source_dim * target_width_ratio)
# Compute target neuron activations (select top variance neurons)
neuron_variance = source_activations.var(dim=0)
_, top_indices = torch.topk(neuron_variance, target_dim)
target_activations = source_activations[:, top_indices]
# Compute optimal transport map
transport_map = compressor.compute_transport_map(source_activations, target_activations)
# Apply to modelfor layer in model.transformer.h:
# Compress attention output projection
absorb_transport_into_weights(layer.attn.out_proj, transport_map, position='output')
# Compress FFN output projection
absorb_transport_into_weights(layer.mlp.down_proj, transport_map, position='output')
return model
Controls entropy regularization strength; 0.01-1.0 range works
Calibration Samples
128-256
Minimum for stable transport computation; 128 token sequences
Cost Metric
L1 distance
L1 more robust than L2 for outlier neurons
Effective Rank Threshold
99% variance
Select target neurons with cumulative 99% activation variance
Sinkhorn Iterations
100
Convergence typically achieved in 50-100 iterations
When to Use
Reducing inference latency for already-deployed LLMs with acceptable accuracy trade-off
Fitting larger models into memory-constrained environments (VRAM, edge devices)
Post-hoc model compression when retraining is infeasible
Scenario where real-world speedup (not just parameter reduction) matters
When NOT to Use
Fine-tuning scenarios; retraining may reverse compression benefits
Models already optimized for inference (quantized, distilled); compression compounds
Specialized domains where neurons have fine-grained semantic roles (code generation, reasoning)
Requiring zero performance loss; 1-5% drop is typical depending on compression ratio
Common Pitfalls
Insufficient calibration data: Using <64 token samples leads to noisy cost matrices; collect at least 128 diverse tokens
Mismatched cost metrics: Switching from L1 to L2 mid-optimization changes convergence properties; be consistent
Ignoring heterogeneous layer widths: Applying uniform width reduction across all layers causes bottlenecks; compute per-layer optimal targets
Absorbing inversions incorrectly: When absorbing R^-1 into weights, ensure numerical stability with cond(R) checks; add regularization if cond(R) > 1e8
Over-reducing at upper layers: Early transformer layers are more critical; reduce later layers more aggressively for better overall accuracy
