Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ ZENODOarrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
versions View all 2 versions
addClaim

Epistemic Topology and Executable Provenance in Large-Scale Theoretical Frameworks

Authors: Nguyen, T. M.;

Epistemic Topology and Executable Provenance in Large-Scale Theoretical Frameworks

Abstract

Theoretical and computational research increasingly depends on derivation chains whose complexity exceeds the practical audit capacity of individual researchers. Across disciplines — from theoretical physics and computational biology to economics and climate modeling — approximations become hidden, normalization conventions drift, numerical pipelines disconnect from the claims they instantiate, and predictions become unverifiable without access to unpublished code. This paper introduces Executable Scientific Provenance (ESP): a formal architecture in which every scientific claim is embedded in a dependency directed acyclic graph (DAG) carrying explicit provenance metadata. The framework defines six provenance classes (A–F) describing the epistemic origin of derived objects, and seven certification tags — CERTIFIED, CONDITIONAL, BOUNDED, SYMBOLIC, COMPARISON_ONLY, AGGREGATION_UNDER_REVIEW, DEPRECATED — describing their operational status within a living derivation graph. Lean 4 serves as an executable audit layer enforcing a zero-sorry policy, synchronizing theorem metadata, and stabilizing dependency topology. Normalization epochs and branch locking prevent silent numerical drift across large repositories. As a large-scale stress test, the framework is applied to the muon anomalous magnetic moment a_mu = (g-2)/2, tracing a discrepancy trajectory from +38σ to −0.09σ through three sequentially identified and corrected provenance failures — an ontology assignment error, stale running-coupling propagation, and a leading-logarithmic approximation leak — while leaving certified sectors intact throughout. The audit sequence demonstrates that provenance-aware derivation graphs localize failures coherently under ppm-level precision pressure. The framework is domain-agnostic. The same failure modes — opaque derivation chains, hidden approximations, disconnected numerics, silent normalization drift — appear across quantitative disciplines, and the ESP architecture provides a common vocabulary for diagnosing and containing them. The paper introduces the concept of epistemic topology: the global structure of a derivation graph viewed as a stratified space whose regions are distinguished by provenance class and certification status. Companion paper: T.M. Nguyen, The Physics of the Self-Field Theory: A Unified Framework from One Lagrangian (2026). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20019179

Keywords

Formalization, Certification, Certification/standards, Research/trends, Quantum physics, Interdisciplinary Research, Nuclear physics, Physics/instrumentation, Atomic physics, Plasma physics, Social Control, Formal/methods, Certification/methods, Solar physics, Heat (physics), Physics, Research, Physics/education, Particle physics, Lean 4, Physics/standards, Research/education, Laser physics, Transport (physics), Mathematical physics, Physics/methods, Mesoscopic physics, Certification/classification, Certification/trends, Theoretical physics, Health Physics

  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    0
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average