{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7125133694","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","title":"Failure Modes in Multi-Hop QA: The Weakest Link Law and the Recognition Bottleneck","display_name":"Failure Modes in Multi-Hop QA: The Weakest Link Law and the Recognition Bottleneck","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-01-18","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7125133694","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"article"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5008594940","display_name":"Meiru Zhang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9105-9994"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Meiru","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5073342482","display_name":"Zaiqiao Meng","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5374-0318"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Meng, Zaiqiao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5123464259","display_name":"Nigel Collier","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Collier, Nigel","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":3,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5008594940"],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.3003999888896942,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.3003999888896942,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.11760000139474869,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12026","display_name":"Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)","score":0.10989999771118164,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/context","display_name":"Context (archaeology)","score":0.6758000254631042},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/bottleneck","display_name":"Bottleneck","score":0.6416000127792358},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/position","display_name":"Position (finance)","score":0.6147000193595886},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/matching","display_name":"Matching (statistics)","score":0.5699999928474426},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/dual","display_name":"Dual (grammatical number)","score":0.5389000177383423},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/variance","display_name":"Variance (accounting)","score":0.4528000056743622},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/link","display_name":"Link (geometry)","score":0.41609999537467957},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/confusion","display_name":"Confusion","score":0.36169999837875366}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779343474","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3109175","display_name":"Context (archaeology)","level":2,"score":0.6758000254631042},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6633999943733215},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780513914","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18210350","display_name":"Bottleneck","level":2,"score":0.6416000127792358},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C198082294","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3399648","display_name":"Position (finance)","level":2,"score":0.6147000193595886},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C165064840","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1321061","display_name":"Matching (statistics)","level":2,"score":0.5699999928474426},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780980858","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110022","display_name":"Dual (grammatical number)","level":2,"score":0.5389000177383423},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C196083921","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7915758","display_name":"Variance (accounting)","level":2,"score":0.4528000056743622},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.439300000667572},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2778753846","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6554239","display_name":"Link (geometry)","level":2,"score":0.41609999537467957},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2781140086","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q557945","display_name":"Confusion","level":2,"score":0.36169999837875366},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C98184364","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1780131","display_name":"Argument (complex analysis)","level":2,"score":0.3538999855518341},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C78780964","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7233193","display_name":"Position paper","level":2,"score":0.3418999910354614},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26517878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228039","display_name":"Key (lock)","level":2,"score":0.33640000224113464},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C80444323","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2878974","display_name":"Theoretical computer science","level":1,"score":0.3230000138282776},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2778023678","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q554403","display_name":"Duality (order theory)","level":2,"score":0.3068999946117401},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C99844830","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q102441924","display_name":"Scaling","level":2,"score":0.30239999294281006},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.3001999855041504},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C11413529","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8366","display_name":"Algorithm","level":1,"score":0.2896000146865845},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C184337299","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1437428","display_name":"Semantics (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.2842000126838684},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C195324797","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33742","display_name":"Natural language","level":2,"score":0.2660999894142151},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C64543145","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q162942","display_name":"Intersection (aeronautics)","level":2,"score":0.26460000872612},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C175154964","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380077","display_name":"Task analysis","level":3,"score":0.25529998540878296},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154690210","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1668499","display_name":"Rewriting","level":2,"score":0.2549000084400177},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12713177","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1900281","display_name":"Perspective (graphical)","level":2,"score":0.2513999938964844},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C90559484","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q778379","display_name":"Expression (computer science)","level":2,"score":0.25040000677108765}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2601.12499","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16","display_name":"Peace, Justice and strong institutions","score":0.8175748586654663}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Despite":[0],"scaling":[1],"to":[2,15,22,35,56,88,133],"massive":[3],"context":[4],"windows,":[5],"Large":[6],"Language":[7],"Models":[8],"(LLMs)":[9],"struggle":[10],"with":[11],"multi-hop":[12,72,84],"reasoning":[13,85],"due":[14],"inherent":[16],"position":[17,104],"bias,":[18],"which":[19],"causes":[20],"them":[21],"overlook":[23],"information":[24],"at":[25],"certain":[26],"positions.":[27,66],"Whether":[28],"these":[29,58],"failures":[30],"stem":[31],"from":[32],"an":[33],"inability":[34],"locate":[36,163],"evidence":[37],"(recognition":[38],"failure)":[39,44],"or":[40],"integrate":[41,165],"it":[42],"(synthesis":[43],"is":[45,100,146],"unclear.":[46],"We":[47,115],"introduce":[48],"Multi-Focus":[49],"Attention":[50],"Instruction":[51],"(MFAI),":[52],"a":[53,118],"semantic":[54],"probe":[55],"disentangle":[57],"mechanisms":[59],"by":[60,102,131],"explicitly":[61],"steering":[62],"attention":[63,121],"towards":[64],"selected":[65],"Across":[67],"5":[68],"LLMs":[69],"on":[70],"two":[71],"QA":[73],"tasks":[74,144],"(MuSiQue":[75],"and":[76,164],"NeoQA),":[77],"we":[78,153],"establish":[79],"the":[80,89,93,107,166],"\"Weakest":[81],"Link":[82],"Law\":":[83],"performance":[86,90],"collapses":[87],"level":[91],"of":[92],"least":[94],"visible":[95],"evidence.":[96],"Crucially,":[97],"this":[98],"failure":[99],"governed":[101],"absolute":[103],"rather":[105],"than":[106],"linear":[108],"distance":[109],"between":[110],"facts":[111],"(performance":[112],"variance":[113],"$<3%$).":[114],"further":[116],"identify":[117],"duality":[119],"in":[120,135,142,149,173],"steering:":[122],"while":[123],"matched":[124],"MFAI":[125,139],"resolves":[126],"recognition":[127],"bottlenecks,":[128],"improving":[129],"accuracy":[130],"up":[132],"11.5%":[134],"low-visibility":[136],"positions,":[137],"misleading":[138],"triggers":[140],"confusion":[141],"real-world":[143],"but":[145],"successfully":[147],"filtered":[148],"synthetic":[150],"tasks.":[151],"Finally,":[152],"demonstrate":[154],"that":[155,158],"\"thinking\"":[156],"models":[157],"utilize":[159],"System-2":[160],"reasoning,":[161],"effectively":[162],"required":[167],"information,":[168],"matching":[169],"gold-only":[170],"baselines":[171],"even":[172],"noisy,":[174],"long-context":[175],"settings.":[176]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-01-22T23:33:04.759266","created_date":"2026-01-22T00:00:00"}