Definitions

Findings

Each investigated claim has exactly one finding. A paper with several claims can have several different findings; there is no verdict on a paper as a whole.

No defect found

A deep audit within a stated scope found no defect. This is not a proof that the claim is correct.

False as stated

The claim, read exactly as printed with its stated assumptions, is false. A counterexample is given.

Proof incomplete

The proof does not establish the claim as written. The claim itself is not shown to be false, and a repair may exist.

Missing assumption

The claim holds only under an assumption that the paper does not state.

Construction fails

A mechanism, algorithm or other construction does not do what the paper says it does.

Unresolved

The question could not be settled, usually because the relevant version of the source could not be obtained. Not counted as a defect.

A short qualifier sometimes follows the label:

• repairable gap: a short argument or condition closes the gap in the cases checked.
• unsupported citation: the proof relies on a cited result that does not cover the case.
• previously reported: the error was already corrected or reported in print before the audit.
• source not available: the version of the source needed to settle the question could not be obtained.

Records also say which result a defect affects and what the finding does not establish.

Statuses of a candidate defect

Candidate

Any possible defect reported by any check. Most candidates come from AI-assisted discovery runs and are never published by name.

Open

Not yet settled. A candidate supported only by AI rechecks stays open until a human has checked it.

Confirmed

At least two confirming checks of different kinds, at least one by a human, and no refuting check left unaddressed. Only confirmed defects are published as defects.

Unresolved

Checks were completed but could not settle the question. Never counted as a defect or as rejected. An unresolved question appears by name only inside a record that is released for other, settled claims in the same paper; a paper is never named because of an unresolved question alone.

Rejected

A check showed the suspected defect does not exist. Counted, never named.

Withdrawn

A released record we no longer stand behind. The page stays online with the reason.

Kinds of check

Verification distinguishes a separate AI recheck from four human-support categories. A private human confirmation records only that the confirmation standard was met; it does not disclose the source or correspondence.

Separate AI recheck

An AI model in a new session. Never counted as a human check.

Reproduced by the researcher

Re-derived by hand or with separately written code.

External human verification

Someone outside the programme, in their own name.

Written author agreement

The authors agreed in writing.

Qualifying human confirmation (private)

A human confirmation is recorded in the private research file without disclosing its source or correspondence.

Rerunning the original evidence package shows the package works; it is reported separately and is not counted as a check.

Source check

The decisive elements are the statement, every definition and assumption the finding relies on, the decisive step, and any supplement the claim depends on.

• Full: every decisive element checked on rendered pages of the published version
• Partial: some decisive element checked only in extracted text, or not checked
• None: checked against a preprint or working paper only

Author positions

Author contact is not a publication requirement. When a written author position exists, it may be recorded as agreed, partly agreed or disagreed. A record may also state that the authors were not contacted. Private correspondence is published only with separate consent to its public use.

Corrections

A correction is described as crediting this audit only if its own text says so. A correction published before the audit marks the finding as previously reported; it is not an outcome of this audit.