Paper
Token Coherence: Adapting MESI Cache Protocols to Minimize Synchronization Overhead in Multi-Agent LLM Systems
Authors
Vladyslav Parakhin
Abstract
Multi-agent LLM orchestration incurs synchronization costs scaling as O(n x S x |D|) in agents, steps, and artifact size under naive broadcast -- a regime I term broadcast-induced triply-multiplicative overhead. I argue this pathology is a structural residue of full-state rebroadcast, not an inherent property of multi-agent coordination. The central claim: synchronization cost explosion in LLM multi-agent systems maps with formal precision onto the cache coherence problem in shared-memory multiprocessors, and MESI-protocol invalidation transfers to artifact synchronization under minimal structural modification. I construct the Artifact Coherence System (ACS) and prove the Token Coherence Theorem: lazy invalidation attenuates cost by at least S/(n + W(d_i)) when S > n + W(d_i), converting O(n x S x |D|) to O((n + W) x |D|). A TLA+-verified protocol enforces single-writer safety, monotonic versioning, and bounded staleness across ~2,400 explored states. Simulation across four workload configurations yields token savings of 95.0% +/- 1.3% at V=0.05, 92.3% +/- 1.4% at V=0.10, 88.3% +/- 1.5% at V=0.25, and 84.2% +/- 1.3% at V=0.50 -- each exceeding the theorem's conservative lower bounds. Savings of ~81% persist at V=0.9, contrary to the predicted collapse threshold. Contributions: (1) formal MESI-to-artifact state mapping; (2) Token Coherence Theorem as savings lower bound; (3) TLA+-verified protocol with three proven invariants; (4) characterization of conditional artifact access semantics resolving the always-read objection; (5) reference Python implementation integrating with LangGraph, CrewAI, and AutoGen via thin adapter layers.
Metadata
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"raw_xml": "<entry>\n <id>http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.15183v1</id>\n <title>Token Coherence: Adapting MESI Cache Protocols to Minimize Synchronization Overhead in Multi-Agent LLM Systems</title>\n <updated>2026-03-16T12:20:06Z</updated>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.15183v1' rel='alternate' type='text/html'/>\n <link href='https://arxiv.org/pdf/2603.15183v1' rel='related' title='pdf' type='application/pdf'/>\n <summary>Multi-agent LLM orchestration incurs synchronization costs scaling as O(n x S x |D|) in agents, steps, and artifact size under naive broadcast -- a regime I term broadcast-induced triply-multiplicative overhead. I argue this pathology is a structural residue of full-state rebroadcast, not an inherent property of multi-agent coordination.\n The central claim: synchronization cost explosion in LLM multi-agent systems maps with formal precision onto the cache coherence problem in shared-memory multiprocessors, and MESI-protocol invalidation transfers to artifact synchronization under minimal structural modification.\n I construct the Artifact Coherence System (ACS) and prove the Token Coherence Theorem: lazy invalidation attenuates cost by at least S/(n + W(d_i)) when S > n + W(d_i), converting O(n x S x |D|) to O((n + W) x |D|). A TLA+-verified protocol enforces single-writer safety, monotonic versioning, and bounded staleness across ~2,400 explored states.\n Simulation across four workload configurations yields token savings of 95.0% +/- 1.3% at V=0.05, 92.3% +/- 1.4% at V=0.10, 88.3% +/- 1.5% at V=0.25, and 84.2% +/- 1.3% at V=0.50 -- each exceeding the theorem's conservative lower bounds. Savings of ~81% persist at V=0.9, contrary to the predicted collapse threshold.\n Contributions: (1) formal MESI-to-artifact state mapping; (2) Token Coherence Theorem as savings lower bound; (3) TLA+-verified protocol with three proven invariants; (4) characterization of conditional artifact access semantics resolving the always-read objection; (5) reference Python implementation integrating with LangGraph, CrewAI, and AutoGen via thin adapter layers.</summary>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='cs.DC'/>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='cs.AI'/>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='cs.LG'/>\n <category scheme='http://arxiv.org/schemas/atom' term='cs.MA'/>\n <published>2026-03-16T12:20:06Z</published>\n <arxiv:comment>25 pages. Code and reproduction scripts at https://github.com/hipvlady/agent-coherence</arxiv:comment>\n <arxiv:primary_category term='cs.DC'/>\n <author>\n <name>Vladyslav Parakhin</name>\n </author>\n </entry>"
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