# Large Language Models for Physics Instrument Design

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07580 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.07580/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 13 of its 38 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Jan 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 13 of 13)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Chain-of-Thought Prompting Elicits Reasoning in Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.11903/) (2022)
- [Large Language Models are Zero-Shot Reasoners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.11916/) (2022)
- [Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.07682/) (2022)
- [Molecular De Novo Design through Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.07555/) (2017)
- [Deep Reinforcement Learning for De-Novo Drug Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1711.10907/) (2017)
- [Large Language Models to Enhance Bayesian Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.03921/) (2024)
- [Deep Generative Models in Engineering Design: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.10863/) (2021)
- [Bayesian Optimization with LLM-Based Acquisition Functions for Natural Language Preference Elicitation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.00981/) (2024)
- [AI-optimized detector design for the future Electron-Ion Collider: the dual-radiator RICH case](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.05797/) (2019)
- [Opportunities for Large Language Models and Discourse in Engineering Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.09169/) (2023)
- [TomOpt: Differential optimisation for task- and constraint-aware design of particle detectors in the context of muon tomography](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14027/) (2023)
- [Physics Instrument Design with Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.10237/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Machine learning for the LHC physics program: a 2025-2026 stocktake](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.32874/) (2026)
- [NeutronGym: Physics-Graded Neutron Instrument Design for LLM Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.03631/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We study the use of large language models (LLMs) for physics instrument design and compare their performance to reinforcement learning (RL). Using only prompting, LLMs are given task constraints and summaries of prior high-scoring designs and propose complete detector configurations, which we evaluate with the same simulators and reward functions used in RL-based optimization. Although RL yields stronger final designs, we find that modern LLMs consistently generate valid, resource-aware, and physically meaningful configurations that draw on broad pretrained knowledge of detector design principles and particle--matter interactions, despite having no task-specific training. Based on this result, as a first step toward hybrid design workflows, we explore pairing the LLMs with a dedicated trust region optimizer, serving as a precursor to future pipelines in which LLMs propose and structure design hypotheses while RL performs reward-driven optimization. Based on these experiments, we argue that LLMs are well suited as meta-planners: they can design and orchestrate RL-based optimization studies, define search strategies, and coordinate multiple interacting components within a unified workflow. In doing so, they point toward automated, closed-loop instrument design in which much of the human effort required to structure and supervise optimization can be reduced.