Release Scope and Claim Boundaries

This page is the canonical claim-scope checklist for the current development state. It keeps README, documentation, release notes, and manuscript drafts aligned with the tracked artifacts in docs/_static. If a claim is not listed here or in the referenced gate JSON, treat it as unpromoted. Here, “current” means artifact-backed and release/manuscript scoped. “Deferred” means visible as an audit or planning lane but unavailable for release notes, README highlights, abstracts, or paper conclusions until a later gate promotes it.

Current scoped claims

Claim scope for this release is intentionally artifact-limited: each release-ready claim below must be backed by the cited tracked figure, JSON report, test, or workflow gate. Open manuscript physics lanes stay visible in the guardrail artifacts, but they are not promoted by the release-readiness score.

Lane	Status	Supported claim
Linear and nonlinear benchmark atlas	release-ready for named cases	Linear growth/frequency/eigenfunction and nonlinear window statistics are validated for the tracked release cases. The nonlinear window statistics gate includes only Cyclone, Cyclone Miller, KBM, W7-X, and HSX. ETG nonlinear pilots and KAW/TEM stress lanes are not part of the release nonlinear parity claim unless a later gate index admits them.
Runtime/refactor artifact contract	release-ready as infrastructure	The large runtime and diagnostics refactor is covered as a behavior preservation claim: extracted startup, chunk, result, validation-gate, and artifact helpers keep the public runtime and NetCDF restart/append contracts stable. This does not promote new physics validation, nonlinear optimization, or performance claims.
Quasilinear diagnostics	release-ready as diagnostics	Electrostatic linear heat/particle weights, spectra, and model-selection artifacts are reproducible. Simple one-scalar saturation rules are rejected on the eight-case train/holdout portfolio. The spectral_envelope_ridge candidate is accepted only as a scoped manuscript model-selection result. The passed quasilinear_model_selection_status.json gate does not promote a runtime/TOML absolute-flux predictor, universal nonlinear transport model, or user-facing saturation law. Any future absolute-flux promotion additionally requires finite passed nonlinear late-window convergence metadata for every holdout: transient cutoff, running-mean drift, block/bootstrap SEM, finite sample count, and source provenance. Electromagnetic quasilinear field-channel normalization and KBM calibration remain future gates.
Differentiable geometry	release-ready for equal-arc parity and reduced QH/Li383 gates	The vmec_jax -> booz_xform_jax -> SPECTRAX-GK bridge is validated for zero-beta equal-arc field-line parity where the current mboz=nboz=21 parity artifact passes. The fixed-resolution QI row now passes after the Boozer half-mesh convention fix, with drift mismatch about 7.13e-2 against the 8e-2 tolerance, and the evaluated QI ntheta=8,16 variants pass. This is still not a broad QI transport or optimization claim. Reduced frequency, quasilinear, and nonlinear-window-estimator gradients pass AD/finite-difference gates on QH and Li383. The actual nonlinear finite-difference audits are startup plumbing checks with false transport-average gates; they do not validate production turbulence gradients.
VMEC/Boozer reduced objectives	release-ready for reduced gradient and UQ plumbing	The public in-memory objective path supports reduced linear frequency, electrostatic quasilinear proxy, and smooth nonlinear-window-estimator objectives through the mode-21 VMEC/Boozer bridge. The QH and Li383 holdout matrix is the citeable gate for these reduced objectives. The QL-seeded nonlinear-gradient state-control screen has admitted Rsin_mid_surface_m1 and Zcos_mid_surface_m1 as internal VMEC-state controls. The first symmetric RBC/ZBS state-to-input response fails closed, while the LASYM=true RBS/ZBC response passes as a conditioned launch mapping. This row still does not promote multi-surface/multi-alpha optimization, calibrated absolute quasilinear flux prediction, or converged nonlinear heat-flux gradients.
Stellarator optimization examples	release-ready as reduced examples plus selected optimized-equilibrium audit	The examples demonstrate differentiable reduced ITG objectives, UQ, and AD/finite-difference checks. The nonlinear objective is a reduced window-estimator path, not a nonlinear turbulence-gradient path. The selected optimized QA equilibrium now has a converged post-transient seed/timestep transport-window audit, so the production guard is closed for that scoped audit. Broad multi-surface nonlinear optimization and nonlinear turbulence gradients remain unpromoted. A VMEC-JAX transport-gradient diagnostic now also shows a measurable local boundary gradient for the aspect-6 QA restart and a solved-gate projected line-search bracket: the best accepted reduced transport metric improves by 3.55%, while the next larger step is rejected by the QS gate. This supports gate-aware projected admission. The matched long-window audit of that earlier aspect-6 accepted projected step is negative: both seed/timestep ensembles pass, but the ensemble mean heat flux changes from 9.833 to 9.891 (relative reduction -0.00585). It is therefore not a nonlinear turbulent-flux optimization claim. The companion redesign report fails closed and requires a multi-surface, multi-field-line, multi-k_y objective before another nonlinear audit can be used for promotion. A later strict top-12 QA edge audit uses that 18-point objective coverage but still fails promotion (0.58% relative reduction, uncertainty z-score 0.20), so the release scope remains reduced-objective/model-development only.
Parallelization	production-ready for independent work	Independent k_y scans, quasilinear spectra, sensitivity batches, and UQ ensembles preserve serial ordering and have solver-backed scaling artifacts. Runtime scan TOMLs may use [parallel] strategy = "batch" with axis = "ky" for this independent scan path. Whole-state nonlinear sharding is a correctness/profiler gate only.
Performance	release-ready for scoped profiler evidence	Runtime/memory panels, RHS profiler artifacts, and state-sharding identity checks are tracked. No broad nonlinear multi-GPU speedup or production domain-decomposition claim is made.

Explicitly unpromoted claims

Do not make these claims from the current artifacts:

• universal or user-facing absolute quasilinear flux prediction;

• treating refactor/test coverage as new physics validation or as a nonlinear performance claim;

• using spectral_envelope_ridge as a shipped runtime or TOML saturation option;

• electromagnetic quasilinear transport calibration for KBM;

• broad multi-surface production nonlinear heat-flux stellarator optimization;

• production nonlinear optimization without converged post-transient audits of optimized equilibria; the selected QA optimized-equilibrium audit is the current scoped exception;

• converged nonlinear transport gradients through vmec_jax and booz_xform_jax;

• launching nonlinear-gradient campaigns directly from admitted VMEC-state controls without a separate state-to-input mapping artifact;

• treating compact nonlinear finite-difference startup audits as saturated transport averages;

• treating reduced nonlinear-window estimators or startup finite-difference audits as optimized-equilibrium nonlinear heat-flux audit bars;

• multi-surface, multi-alpha, or multi-k_y stellarator optimization from the current reduced single-fixture objective evidence;

• broad W7-X validation beyond the tracked single-flux-tube ITG windows;

• broad QI validation beyond the fixed-resolution mode-21 equal-arc parity row;

• citing even the fixed-resolution QI mode-21 row when the latest regenerated parity artifact fails, errors, or is missing;

• W7-X TEM / kinetic-electron validation;

• W7-X long-window zonal recurrence/damping closure;

• nonlinear multi-GPU speedup from whole-state sharding;

• FFT-axis nonlinear domain decomposition.

Release figure and artifact inventory

Use this inventory when deciding which figures can support release notes, README claims, or manuscript claims.

Claim family	Current release/manuscript artifacts	Boundary
Benchmark validation	benchmark_core_linear_atlas.png, benchmark_core_nonlinear_atlas.png, nonlinear_window_statistics.{png,json}, and validation_gate_index.{png,json}	Nonlinear release parity is the five-case window-statistics set only. Stress, pilot, and non-indexed example figures are not promoted.
Quasilinear diagnostics and model selection	quasilinear_*_spectrum.*, quasilinear_validated_calibration_inputs.*, quasilinear_stellarator_train_holdout.*, external_vmec_dshape_replicates/dshape_replicate_t250_ensemble_gate.*, external_vmec_circular_replicates/circular_replicate_t700_ensemble_gate.*, quasilinear_saturation_rule_sweep.*, quasilinear_candidate_uncertainty.*, and quasilinear_dataset_sufficiency.*	Electrostatic diagnostics and manuscript model selection are in scope. Runtime absolute-flux prediction and electromagnetic calibration are not.
Autodiff and differentiable geometry	autodiff_inverse_growth.*, autodiff_inverse_twomode.*, differentiable_geometry_bridge.*, vmec_boozer_parity_matrix.*, vmec_boozer_gradient_holdout_matrix.*, nonlinear_window_fd_audit.*, and vmec_boozer_nonlinear_window_fd_audit.*	Reduced AD/finite-difference gates are in scope. Production nonlinear turbulence-gradient and broad optimized-equilibrium heat-flux claims are not; the selected QA optimized-equilibrium replicated audit is covered by the scoped stellarator-optimization row rather than by this general AD inventory row.
VMEC/Boozer objective and optimization checklist	vmec_boozer_solver_frequency_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_quasilinear_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_nonlinear_window_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_li383_solver_frequency_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_li383_quasilinear_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_li383_nonlinear_window_gradient_gate.*, vmec_boozer_gradient_holdout_matrix.*, vmec_boozer_multi_point_objective_gate.*, vmec_boozer_reduced_portfolio_guard.json, vmec_boozer_aggregate_line_search_comparison.*, vmec_boozer_aggregate_alpha_holdout_gate.*, vmec_boozer_aggregate_surface_holdout_gate.*, vmec_boozer_second_equilibrium_aggregate_gate.*, vmec_boozer_aggregate_holdout_promotion_gate.json, nonlinear_gradient_ql_seed_screen.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_runbook.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_to_input_mapping_campaign.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_to_input_mapping_response.*, nonlinear_gradient_asymmetric_state_to_input_mapping_campaign.*, nonlinear_gradient_asymmetric_state_to_input_mapping_response.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_launch.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_launch_status.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_nonlinear_audit_status.*, vmec_jax_transport_gradient_diagnostic.json, vmec_jax_transport_gradient_line_search.*, nonlinear_window_ensemble_readiness_manifest.json, nonlinear_window_convergence_reports/*.json, stellarator_itg_optimization_comparison.*, and stellarator_itg_optimization_uq.*	These artifacts support reduced objective differentiability, optimizer plumbing, local UQ, explicit nonlinear ensemble-readiness blockers, and a checked state-control launch guard with a retained fail-closed symmetric negative control. They do not support calibrated saturated-flux prediction, production nonlinear turbulence gradients, direct VMEC-state launches, or optimized-equilibrium nonlinear audits beyond the selected QA candidate documented below.
Scope guardrails	technical_release_status.json, parallelization_completion_status.*, release_readiness.json, manuscript_readiness_status.*, open_research_lane_status.*, and w7x_tem_extension_status.*	These panels record what is closed, deferred, partial, or open; they do not promote the underlying deferred physics lanes by themselves.
Performance and parallelization	runtime_memory_benchmark.*, independent_ky_scan_scaling_large.*, quasilinear_uq_ensemble_scaling_large.*, and parallelization_completion_status.*, plus nonlinear_sharding_*	Independent-work parallelization and profiler localization are in scope. Whole-state nonlinear sharding is not a production speedup claim.

Artifact-backed details

Runtime/refactor state:

• The current large refactor has extracted runtime startup, diagnostics, adaptive chunks, result assembly, validation-gate helpers, zonal-validation helpers, parallelization policy helpers, and runtime artifact boundaries into smaller tested modules. This is a maintainability and public-behavior preservation lane.

• Restartable nonlinear NetCDF append now normalizes loaded diagnostics to the persisted schema before concatenation. Monitored complex mode traces that are transient in memory and not written to *.out.nc remain absent on reload, so continuation artifacts do not mix persisted and non-persisted diagnostic fields.

• These refactor checks support release engineering only. They do not change the benchmark, quasilinear, QI, nonlinear optimization, or performance claim surface without the artifact gates listed below.

Quasilinear model-selection state:

• docs/_static/quasilinear_stellarator_train_holdout_report.json: nonlinear inputs are valid, but the one-constant absolute-flux model remains passed = false with held-out mean relative error about 2.11.

• tools/check_nonlinear_window_convergence.py and spectraxgk.quasilinear_window provide the reusable late-window convergence metadata required before any future holdout report can be promoted to calibrated_absolute_flux. This is a metadata/finite-window guardrail over existing traces, not a substitute for new long nonlinear simulations.

• spectraxgk.quasilinear_window.nonlinear_window_ensemble_report provides the next guardrail for replicated windows: seed, initial-condition, timestep, or restart variants must have individually passed late-window reports and mutually consistent late means before a nonlinear turbulent-flux optimization artifact can claim robustness. tools/check_nonlinear_window_ensemble.py is the tracked artifact wrapper for this gate.

• tools/check_nonlinear_window_ensemble_readiness.py converts tracked transport-window summaries into explicit convergence-report JSON files and a readiness manifest. The older global docs/_static/nonlinear_window_ensemble_readiness_manifest.json remains a base-window manifest, but the current D-shaped and circular case-local replicate campaigns now pass their own ensemble gates. Those case-local artifacts supersede the stale global missing-replicate message for those two cases. The selected optimized-equilibrium audit now also passes its local seed/timestep ensemble gate.

• tools/check_vmec_boozer_aggregate_holdout_gate.py now requires a passed replicated nonlinear-window ensemble artifact in addition to aggregate finite-difference, line-search, and held-out surface/field-line evidence before any optimized-equilibrium production nonlinear heat-flux claim can be promoted. Single-window convergence reports remain necessary but insufficient for that claim level.

• tools/check_production_nonlinear_optimization_guard.py is the explicit production nonlinear turbulent-flux optimization guard. Its tracked artifact, docs/_static/production_nonlinear_optimization_guard.json, passes release safety because reduced/startup estimators are blocked and two long post-transient replicated holdout ensembles pass. The selected optimized QA equilibrium also satisfies this guard because the t=[350,700] seed/timestep replicated transport-window audit is attached; that is a scoped candidate audit, not a broad nonlinear transport-optimization claim.

• tools/build_baseline_optimized_nonlinear_audit.py now records the matched QA no-ESS reference to optimized QA/ESS comparison. The tracked docs/_static/qa_no_ess_to_optimized_nonlinear_audit.json artifact passes with a relative ion-heat-flux reduction of 0.184 and a 7.82 combined SEM separation. This is a scoped finite-transform VMEC campaign comparison, not a broad multi-surface stellarator optimization claim.

• tools/check_nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_evidence.py is the stricter nonlinear turbulence-gradient claim gate. The tracked docs/_static/nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_evidence_status.json artifact passes the replicated long-window uncertainty side but fails closed on the gradient side. The current tracked production-candidate artifact is the optimized-QA/ESS ZBS(1,0) 7.5% follow-up at t=[450,900]: all twelve runtime outputs pass, the baseline and minus replicated ensembles pass, and the central finite difference is both response-resolved (response_fraction = 0.0319) and local (fd_asymmetry_rel = 0.044). It still fails promotion because the plus ensemble spread is 0.196 > 0.15 and the propagated uncertainty is gradient_uncertainty_rel = 1.81 > 0.5. The earlier overdetermined optimized-QA/ESS RBC(1,1) 3% campaign and seed follow-up also remain failed production candidates: all runtime-output and replicated-window gates pass, but gradient_uncertainty_rel = 0.683 remains above the 0.5 gate. The companion ZBS(1,1) 3% overdetermined campaign passes uncertainty but remains nonlocal, while the overdetermined ZBS(1,0) bracket is not response-resolved. The status artifacts therefore record complete runtime coverage where expected and zero promoted controls, so this remains a failed production-candidate gate rather than a missing campaign. Until a paired post-transient artifact passes all response, asymmetry, conditioning, and propagated uncertainty gates, nonlinear turbulence-gradient evidence remains explicitly unpromoted.

• tools/build_nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_fd_gate.py is the paired long-window promotion builder for that missing evidence. It takes the finished baseline, plus_delta, and minus_delta replicated nonlinear-window ensemble JSON files, computes the central finite-difference heat-flux gradient, propagates ensemble SEM into a gradient-uncertainty gate, writes reviewer-facing JSON/CSV/PNG/PDF sidecars, and fails closed unless the response, forward/backward asymmetry, condition number, and all three window uncertainty gates pass.

• Future perturbation refreshes must use distinct artifact slugs rather than overwriting the tracked failed candidate. For example, a new coefficient or amplitude campaign should write a slug such as docs/_static/qa_ess_zbs11_rel5_nonlinear_gradient_zbs_1_1_central_fd_gradient_gate.* and a matching refreshed nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_evidence_status.json. Release prose can promote the result only if the central finite-difference artifact passes and the evidence-status JSON reports the production gradient gate as true; otherwise it remains a documented production-candidate audit.

• tools/rank_nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_candidates.py ranks failed central finite-difference candidates without promoting them. The current docs/_static/nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_candidate_ranking.json summary compares the completed RBC(1,1), ZBS(1,1), and ZBS(1,0) campaigns and recommends an overdetermined least-squares/profile-gradient campaign next because the best single-control candidates have complementary locality and uncertainty failures.

• tools/plan_nonlinear_gradient_followup.py turns completed central-FD artifacts into a bounded follow-up prescription. For the completed overdetermined QA/ESS campaign it writes docs/_static/qa_ess_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_followup_plan.json: add only two new matched nominal-timestep RBC(1,1) seed replicas per state, because RBC(1,1) is local and response-resolved but slightly too uncertain. It refuses more replicas for the nonlocal ZBS(1,1) bracket and the unresolved ZBS(1,0) response.

• tools/summarize_nonlinear_gradient_bracket_sweep.py is the bounded follow-up for a same-control perturbation-amplitude sweep. It writes JSON/CSV/PNG sidecars and an optional PDF from completed central finite-difference artifacts and recommends whether to add replicas, shrink/enlarge the bracket, or switch controls. It is deliberately not a promotion checker; it only promotes when one of the supplied long-window central-FD artifacts already passes all production gates. It now fails closed for mixed-control inputs, and the tracked RBC(1,1) amplitude sweep confirms that the current larger bracket worsens locality instead of closing the nonlinear turbulence-gradient gate.

• tools/write_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign.py is the concrete launch-contract writer for that next campaign shape. The current tracked docs/_static/qa_ess_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign_plan.json uses the optimized-QA/ESS baseline input and prepares ZBS(1,1), ZBS(1,0), and RBC(1,1) controls at 3% relative amplitude with the same t=[450,900] analysis window. This artifact is planning/provenance only; it does not promote a nonlinear turbulence-gradient claim.

• tools/check_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign.py and tools/run_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign.py make that launch contract executable. The current status artifact, docs/_static/qa_ess_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign_status.json, records that all three VMEC-JAX re-equilibrated controls are ready for runtime, but none has completed the required nine long-window nonlinear outputs or central-FD/ranking gates yet. This keeps the broader gradient claim blocked until real post-transient outputs exist. The status check now requires each runtime NetCDF to reach the analysis-window endpoint, not just exist on disk, so in-progress files remain blocked.

• tools/postprocess_overdetermined_nonlinear_gradient_campaign.py is the matching fail-closed post-runtime driver. It runs each nested campaign’s output, ensemble, and central-FD gates, then runs the overdetermined candidate ranking and final status checker before any release promotion.

• tools/write_vmec_boundary_profile_perturbation_inputs.py writes a launch-contract for a smoother composite VMEC boundary direction. The tracked docs/_static/qa_ess_descent_profile_direction_rel2_manifest.json applies a 2% descent-oriented ZBS(1,1), ZBS(1,0), RBC(1,1) direction and records the finite-difference normalization by coefficient-vector norm. This is not nonlinear turbulence-gradient evidence until the generated VMEC states are re-equilibrated and passed through the long-window nonlinear FD gate.

• tools/write_nonlinear_turbulence_gradient_campaign.py is the paired launch-contract writer for the same lane. Given explicit baseline, plus-perturbation, and minus-perturbation VMEC files, it writes the matched fixed-step nonlinear TOML ladders, per-state ensemble commands, the central finite-difference gate command, and the final evidence-check command. It fails closed before writing production launch contracts if any VMEC file is missing, if the same path is reused for more than one state, or if the three files have byte-identical SHA256 contents. The only override is --allow-identical-vmec-content, which is recorded as a smoke-test-only manifest flag and must not be used for production turbulence-gradient claims.

• tools/write_vmec_boundary_perturbation_inputs.py is the upstream boundary-gradient launch helper. It writes matched baseline, plus_delta, and minus_delta VMEC input files for one explicit RBC/RBS/ZBC/ZBS(m,n) coefficient and records the vmec_jax commands that must be run before the resulting wout files can enter the nonlinear-gradient campaign writer.

• docs/_static/quasilinear_saturation_rule_sweep.json: no simple saturation rule is accepted. Positive-growth mixing length is the least-bad simple rule with mean held-out relative error about 2.11; the training-mean null is about 1.20.

• docs/_static/quasilinear_candidate_uncertainty.json: spectral_envelope_ridge is the accepted scoped candidate with mean relative error about 0.295 and interval coverage 7/8 on the current eight-case electrostatic-compatible portfolio. Its claim level is candidate_model_development_not_runtime_option.

• docs/_static/quasilinear_holdout_gap_report.json: absolute-flux promotion remains explicitly blocked. The absolute_flux_promotion_requirements block quantifies the current gap: the absolute train/holdout mean relative error is about 6.04 times the 0.35 gate, three additional independent passed holdouts are still required, one additional external-VMEC holdout family is required, and one non-axisymmetric external-VMEC holdout family is required before promotion can be reconsidered. These are evidence prerequisites, not a promoted runtime absolute-flux option.

• docs/_static/external_vmec_shaped_tokamak_pressure_t450_high_grid_convergence_gate.json: finite shaped-tokamak pressure traces at t = 450 are explicitly excluded from calibration because the n48/n64 heat-flux windows differ by about 0.306, above the 0.15 grid-convergence gate. This is negative validation evidence, not an admitted holdout.

Nonlinear benchmark state:

• docs/_static/nonlinear_window_statistics.json records five passed release-window cases. KBM and HSX use tightened gates, Cyclone Miller is tighter than the broad release envelope, while Cyclone and W7-X remain at the 0.10 release envelope pending paper-level retuning.

• docs/_static/validation_gate_index.json currently records 16 passed gate-indexed reports and 0 open reports. It is a gate index, not a blanket promotion of every figure under docs/_static.

• docs/_static/nonlinear_transport_time_horizon_audit.json separates long post-transient transport windows from startup finite-difference and reduced-envelope checks. Startup windows must never be described as saturated heat-flux averages.

Differentiable-geometry state:

• docs/_static/vmec_boozer_parity_matrix.json is the source of truth for the multi-equilibrium zero-beta equal-arc field-line convention gate at mboz=nboz=21. The current regenerated artifact passes QH, fixed- resolution QI, and shaped-tokamak rows. The QI row nfp3_QI_fixed_resolution_final has drift mismatch about 7.13e-2 against the 8e-2 release tolerance, and evaluated QI ntheta=8,16 robustness variants pass. The full declared QI seed campaign is still artifact-limited because three QI input variants have no bundled wout reference. The builder rejects mboz,nboz < 21 so QI is not silently evaluated on the under-resolved low-mode setting.

• docs/_static/vmec_boozer_gradient_holdout_matrix.json passes reduced linear, quasilinear, and nonlinear-window-estimator gradient gates on QH and Li383 with maximum relative mismatch about 2.7e-2.

• The VMEC/Boozer objective artifact checklist for README and manuscript use is the parity matrix, the six single-equilibrium frequency/quasilinear/reduced nonlinear-window gradient-gate figures, the combined holdout matrix, the multi-alpha aggregate objective gate, the reduced-portfolio provenance guard, the growth-vs-quasilinear line-search comparison, the positive reduced alpha-heldout and surface-heldout splits, the Li383 second-equilibrium aggregate gate, the blocked aggregate promotion JSON, nonlinear_gradient_ql_seed_screen.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_runbook.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_to_input_mapping_campaign.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_to_input_mapping_response.*, nonlinear_gradient_asymmetric_state_to_input_mapping_campaign.*, nonlinear_gradient_asymmetric_state_to_input_mapping_response.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_launch.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_launch_status.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_short_bracket_nonlinear_audit_status.*, nonlinear_gradient_state_control_bracket_sweep_status.*, optimized_equilibrium_replicates/optimized_equilibrium_replicate_t700_ensemble_gate.*, qa_no_ess_reference_replicates/qa_no_ess_reference_t700_ensemble_gate.*, qa_no_ess_to_optimized_nonlinear_audit.*, qa_ess_zbs10_rel7p5_nonlinear_gradient_zbs_1_0_central_fd_gradient_gate.*, qa_ess_zbs10_rel7p5_variance_reduction_plan.*, and the reduced stellarator ITG optimization/UQ panels. This checklist is the current boundary between objective plumbing, checked state-control launch guards, and transport prediction.

• docs/_static/vmec_boozer_reduced_portfolio_guard.json is the artifact-level guard that ties the backend-free portfolio reducer to real VMEC/Boozer rows. It requires VMEC/Boozer path/mode provenance, two field-line alpha values, two k_y samples, finite aggregate FD fields, finite growth/QL AD/FD objective gates, and an explicit non-production nonlinear claim boundary.

• docs/_static/nonlinear_window_fd_audit.json and docs/_static/vmec_boozer_nonlinear_window_fd_audit.json pass only startup finite-difference plumbing checks. Both record transport_average_gate = false.

• Finite-beta drift reconstruction, converged nonlinear turbulence gradients, held-out surface/field-line aggregate promotion, and broader optimized-equilibrium nonlinear audits beyond the selected QA candidate remain future promotion gates.

Parallelization and performance state:

• docs/_static/independent_ky_scan_scaling_large.json and docs/_static/quasilinear_uq_ensemble_scaling_large.json support production independent-work parallelization for scans and ensembles.

• docs/_static/parallelization_completion_status.json is the release closure ledger for parallelization: production independent-work CPU/GPU scaling is closed, while nonlinear domain and FFT-axis decomposition remain diagnostic.

• docs/_static/nonlinear_sharding_strong_scaling_large.json is an identity and profiler-direction artifact. It shows whole-state nonlinear sharding is identity-correct but not a production speedup path for the current decomposition.

• docs/_static/nonlinear_domain_parallel_identity_gate.json and docs/_static/nonlinear_spectral_communication_identity_gate.json are diagnostic identity gates for local halo chunks and spectral split/reassemble communication layout, respectively. They are correctness prerequisites for future nonlinear domain decomposition, not runtime distributed-FFT or nonlinear speedup claims.

• docs/_static/nonlinear_sharding_profile_office_gpu.json and related RHS profiler artifacts support scoped hot-path localization only.

Deferred manuscript lanes

The current manuscript/readme scope intentionally defers:

• W7-X zonal long-window recurrence/damping closure under the paper-facing initializer and observable;

• W7-X multi-flux-tube, multi-surface, and TEM / kinetic-electron validation;

• experimental W7-X fluctuation-spectrum claims through diagnostic transfer functions.

These are tracked in docs/_static/manuscript_readiness_status.json, docs/_static/open_research_lane_status.json, and docs/_static/w7x_tem_extension_status.json. In the narrower manuscript readiness report, W7-X zonal recurrence and TEM/kinetic-electron extension are deferred. In the broader research tracker, W7-X zonal recurrence remains open and W7-X fluctuation/TEM remains partial. The W7-X fluctuation-spectrum panel is a validated simulation diagnostic only; it is not an experimental density-spectrum validation.

Pre-release checklist

Before tagging a new public release:

1. Run the fast shard set, docs build, package build, repo hygiene, mypy, and wide coverage matrix.

2. Confirm the coverage workflow reports the package-wide 95% gate and that coverage-wide-shard-manifest.json has labeled data for every wide coverage shard.

3. Confirm README and this page agree with docs/_static/manuscript_readiness_status.json and docs/_static/open_research_lane_status.json.

4. Confirm runtime/performance claims point to fresh profiler artifacts for the exact backend, device count, problem size, and identity tolerance being claimed.

5. Bump the package version before tagging; PyPI rejects duplicate versions.