{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7130717718","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","title":"ODESteer: A Unified ODE-Based Steering Framework for LLM Alignment","display_name":"ODESteer: A Unified ODE-Based Steering Framework for LLM Alignment","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-02-19","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7130717718","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"pmh:doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":null,"pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4406922384","display_name":"Open MIND","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","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":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126454826","display_name":"Hongjue Zhao","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"Zhao, Hongjue","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5108864110","display_name":"Haosen Sun","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Sun, Haosen","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Kong, Jiangtao","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Kong, Jiangtao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126478203","display_name":"Xiaochang Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Xiaochang","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126498448","display_name":"Qineng Wang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Wang, Qineng","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126498911","display_name":"Liwei Jiang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Jiang, Liwei","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126503320","display_name":"Qi Zhu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhu, Qi","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126472167","display_name":"Tarek Abdelzaher","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Abdelzaher, Tarek","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126497837","display_name":"Yejin Choi","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Choi, Yejin","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5126453490","display_name":"Manling Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Manling","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5041685416","display_name":"Huajie Shao","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7627-5615"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Shao, Huajie","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":11,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5126454826"],"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/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.40619999170303345,"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"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10028","display_name":"Topic Modeling","score":0.40619999170303345,"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/T10181","display_name":"Natural Language Processing Techniques","score":0.065700002014637,"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/T13910","display_name":"Computational and Text Analysis Methods","score":0.052299998700618744,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3300","display_name":"General Social Sciences"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/33","display_name":"Social Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/ode","display_name":"Ode","score":0.7077000141143799},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/inference","display_name":"Inference","score":0.5874000191688538},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/representation","display_name":"Representation (politics)","score":0.5845000147819519},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/function","display_name":"Function (biology)","score":0.5105999708175659},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/control-theory","display_name":"Control theory (sociology)","score":0.5051000118255615},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/differential","display_name":"Differential (mechanical device)","score":0.4474000036716461},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/key","display_name":"Key (lock)","score":0.421999990940094}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C34862557","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q178985","display_name":"Ode","level":2,"score":0.7077000141143799},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6349999904632568},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776214188","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q408386","display_name":"Inference","level":2,"score":0.5874000191688538},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776359362","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2145286","display_name":"Representation (politics)","level":3,"score":0.5845000147819519},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C14036430","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3736076","display_name":"Function (biology)","level":2,"score":0.5105999708175659},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C47446073","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5165890","display_name":"Control theory (sociology)","level":3,"score":0.5051000118255615},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C133731056","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4917288","display_name":"Control engineering","level":1,"score":0.4814000129699707},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C93226319","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q193137","display_name":"Differential (mechanical device)","level":2,"score":0.4474000036716461},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26517878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228039","display_name":"Key (lock)","level":2,"score":0.421999990940094},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18762648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42213","display_name":"Work (physics)","level":2,"score":0.3878999948501587},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780801425","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5164392","display_name":"Construct (python library)","level":2,"score":0.3578000068664551},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2775924081","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q55608371","display_name":"Control (management)","level":2,"score":0.3375999927520752},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2779793024","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17299941","display_name":"Indirect Inference","level":3,"score":0.29409998655319214},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C148043351","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4456944","display_name":"Current (fluid)","level":2,"score":0.28290000557899475},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780380046","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q423329","display_name":"Active steering","level":3,"score":0.2824000120162964}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"pmh:doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":null,"pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4406922384","display_name":"Open MIND","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Article"},{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","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":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"article"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"pmh:doi:10.48550/arxiv.2602.17560","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":null,"pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4406922384","display_name":"Open MIND","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"score":0.47535818815231323,"display_name":"Peace, Justice and strong institutions","id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/16"}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Activation":[0],"steering,":[1],"or":[2],"representation":[3],"engineering,":[4],"offers":[5],"a":[6,35,67,91,106,113,126,188,204],"lightweight":[7],"approach":[8],"to":[9,55,94,111,163,173],"align":[10],"large":[11],"language":[12],"models":[13],"(LLMs)":[14],"by":[15,132,146,214],"manipulating":[16],"their":[17],"internal":[18],"activations":[19],"at":[20],"inference":[21],"time.":[22],"However,":[23],"current":[24],"methods":[25],"suffer":[26],"from":[27,116,120],"two":[28],"key":[29],"limitations:":[30],"(i)":[31],"the":[32,41,95,148,152,226],"lack":[33],"of":[34,43,59,97,128,208],"unified":[36,68],"theoretical":[37,73,217],"framework":[38,74],"for":[39,75,167],"guiding":[40],"design":[42],"steering":[44,52,77,107,130,144,176,210],"directions,":[45],"and":[46,157,160,169,197,221],"(ii)":[47],"an":[48,98,165],"over-reliance":[49],"on":[50,101,183],"one-step":[51],"that":[53,83],"fail":[54],"capture":[56],"complex":[57],"patterns":[58],"activation":[60,76,85,175,209],"distributions.":[61],"In":[62],"this":[63,102,121],"work,":[64],"we":[65,123],"propose":[66],"ordinary":[69],"differential":[70],"equations":[71],"(ODEs)-based":[72],"in":[78,139,211],"LLM":[79,140,185,212],"alignment.":[80,141],"We":[81],"show":[82],"conventional":[84],"addition":[86],"can":[87],"be":[88],"interpreted":[89],"as":[90,151],"first-order":[92],"approximation":[93],"solution":[96],"ODE.":[99],"Based":[100],"ODE":[103,166],"perspective,":[104],"identifying":[105],"direction":[108],"becomes":[109],"equivalent":[110],"designing":[112],"barrier":[114,133,149],"function":[115,150],"control":[117],"theory.":[118],"Derived":[119],"framework,":[122],"introduce":[124],"ODESteer,":[125],"kind":[127],"ODE-based":[129],"guided":[131],"functions,":[134],"which":[135],"shows":[136],"empirical":[137,181],"advancement":[138],"ODESteer":[142,178,228],"identifies":[143],"directions":[145],"defining":[147],"log-density":[153],"ratio":[154],"between":[155],"positive":[156],"negative":[158],"activations,":[159],"employs":[161],"it":[162,223],"construct":[164],"multi-step":[168],"adaptive":[170],"steering.":[171],"Compared":[172],"state-of-the-art":[174],"methods,":[177],"achieves":[179],"consistent":[180],"improvements":[182],"diverse":[184],"alignment":[186,213],"benchmarks,":[187],"notable":[189],"$5.7\\%$":[190],"improvement":[191],"over":[192,195,199],"TruthfulQA,":[193],"$2.5\\%$":[194],"UltraFeedback,":[196],"$2.4\\%$":[198],"RealToxicityPrompts.":[200],"Our":[201],"work":[202],"establishes":[203],"principled":[205],"new":[206],"view":[207],"unifying":[215],"its":[216],"foundations":[218],"via":[219],"ODEs,":[220],"validating":[222],"empirically":[224],"through":[225],"proposed":[227],"method.":[229]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-04-04T16:13:02.066488","created_date":"2026-02-21T00:00:00"}