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arXiv · 2604.08591

From Dispersion to Attraction: Spectral Dynamics of Hallucination Across Whisper Model Scales

Ivan Viakhirev·Kirill Borodin·Grach Mkrtchian
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Abstract

Hallucinations in large ASR models present a critical safety risk. In this work, we propose the \textit{Spectral Sensitivity Theorem}, which predicts a phase transition in deep networks from a dispersive regime (signal decay) to an attractor regime (rank-1 collapse) governed by layer-wise gain and alignment. We validate this theory by analyzing the eigenspectra of activation graphs in Whisper models (Tiny to Large-v3-Turbo) under adversarial stress. Our results confirm the theoretical prediction: intermediate models exhibit \textit{Structural Disintegration} (Regime I), characterized by a $13.4\%$ collapse in Cross-Attention rank. Conversely, large models enter a \textit{Compression-Seeking Attractor} state (Regime II), where Self-Attention actively compresses rank ($-2.34\%$) and hardens the spectral slope, decoupling the model from acoustic evidence.

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Ivan Viakhirev, Kirill Borodin, Grach Mkrtchian. 2026-03-31. From Dispersion to Attraction: Spectral Dynamics of Hallucination Across Whisper Model Scales. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.08591

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