Does Transolver really need a Transformer?
Wen, Mishra · arXiv 2026 · Transformers
What it does
Ablations on nine 3D fluid benchmarks: replacing slice attention with a constant linear map keeps accuracy, while removing the slicing and deslicing makes it collapse.
Why it matters
Shows that Transolver’s strength is the global mixing through slices, explained with the theory of averaging neural operators, which points to simpler and cheaper models.