arXiv:2605.28896cs.LG2026-05

LoRA微调会生成与预训练模型不同的表征结构,影响模型可解释性。

Feature Geometry of LoRA Adapters: A Sparse Autoencoder Analysis of Representational Divergence in Fine-Tuned Language Models

论文配图:Feature Geometry of LoRA Adapters: A Sparse Autoencoder Analysis of Representational Divergence in Fine-Tuned Language Models
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 用稀疏自编码器分析LoRA引起的残差流特征变化。
  • 不同秩和层的LoRA特征与预训练字典对齐度低,重建效果更好。
  • 适合关注模型微调机制、可解释性与安全审计的研究者。

低秩适配(LoRA)已成为大语言模型微调的主流方法,但其引发的内部表征变化仍不清晰。本文利用稀疏自编码器(SAEs)研究LoRA带来的表征几何特性,提出一种分离适配器贡献的增量激活框架。基于Gemma-2-9B模型,在不同层数与秩(4、8、16、32)下训练适配器专属SAEs,对比其与预训练SAE字典的特征空间。通过解码方向余弦相似度、特征子空间主角分析及中心核对齐(CKA)评估表征对齐度。结果显示,各层与秩下,LoRA特征字典与预训练特征的几何对齐度普遍较弱;适配器专属SAEs在重构增量激活方面优于预训练SAEs,表明LoRA更新占据残差流中部分独立的表征结构。同时,特征密度随秩与深度增加,几何偏离度在不同秩间保持相对稳定。结果表明,LoRA微调可能引入未被预训练可解释性字典覆盖的特征结构,对机制可解释性、适应性分析及安全审计具有重要启示。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) has emerged as a widely adopted approach for adapting large language models, yet the internal representational changes induced by LoRA fine-tuning remain insufficiently understood. In this work, we investigate the geometry of LoRA-induced representations using Sparse Autoencoders (SAEs). We introduce a delta activation framework that isolates the adapter-specific contribution to the residual stream. Using Gemma-2-9B with LoRA ranks 4, 8, 16, and 32, we train adapter-specific SAEs across multiple transformer layers and compare their learned feature spaces with pretrained SAE dictionaries. We evaluate representational alignment using cosine similarity between decoder directions, principal-angle analysis of feature subspaces, and Centered Kernel Alignment (CKA) between activation representations. Across layers and ranks, we consistently observe comparatively weak geometric alignment between LoRA-induced feature dictionaries and pretrained SAE features. Adapter-specific SAEs also reconstruct delta activations more effectively than pretrained SAEs, suggesting that LoRA updates occupy partially distinct representational structure within the residual stream. Additionally, feature density increases with rank and depth, while geometric divergence remains relatively stable across ranks. These findings provide empirical evidence that LoRA fine-tuning can induce feature structures that are not fully captured by pretrained interpretability dictionaries, with implications for mechanistic interpretability, adaptation analysis, and safety auditing of fine-tuned language models.

LoRA可解释性表征分析

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