When Should Queries Be Decomposed? A Stage-Aware Study of Query Decomposition for Multi-Condition Retrieval
A new study on arXiv explores the effectiveness of query decomposition in multi-condition information retrieval systems. Researchers found that decomposing queries early in the retrieval process can harm performance by diluting semantic meaning. However, decomposing queries during the reranking stage significantly improves accuracy by allowing for more precise constraint verification. To address this, the study proposes a framework that keeps queries monolithic during initial retrieval and uses sub-queries only for reranking, demonstrating improved performance on established benchmarks. AI
IMPACT This research could lead to more accurate information retrieval systems by optimizing how queries are processed at different stages.