Auditor Review Standards & Specification
The official evaluation standard governing how The Penta-Ledger conducts pedigree-blind mathematical audits using the Three-State Epistemic Minimum (TSEM), builds auditable logic ledgers, and delivers actionable author remediation vectors.
Foundational Core: The Three-State Epistemic Minimum (TSEM)
The Three-State Epistemic Minimum (TSEM) mandates that every problem space Ω must be partitioned into three non-overlapping domains: The Defensibly Possible (SP), The Provably Impossible (SI), and The Irreducibly Unknowable (SU). This prevents forced binary dilemmas, protects unprovable propositions in permanent quarantine against rhetorical overwriting, and drives high-speed convergence toward verified truth.
Compliance Matrix: Minimum vs. Conditional Requirements
Every review published on the platform must adhere to the following strict compliance tiers:
| Review Section / Element | Tier | Target Audience & Purpose |
|---|---|---|
Foundational: TSEM Tri-State Ontological Partition S_P (Possible) | S_I (Impossible) | S_U (Unknowable) | MANDATORY | Prevents false binary dilemmas and permanently protects unprovable propositions from rhetorical overwriting. Audience: All Stakeholders & Evaluators |
Frontmatter: Identification & Hash reviewId, paperHash, paperTitle, author, leadAuditor, publishedDate | MANDATORY | Cryptographic provenance, author identity/pseudonymity, and auditor accountability. Audience: All Stakeholders & Archive Indexers |
Frontmatter: Epistemic Verdict & Taxonomy verdict, codeFlagged, requesterType, mscCodes, tags | MANDATORY | Instant visual indexing, search filtering, and AMS mathematical classification. Audience: Researchers & Discovery Algorithms |
Frontmatter: Plain-English Abstract abstract (2–3 sentences) | MANDATORY | What was claimed, how it was attempted, and the bottom-line result. Audience: Science Enthusiasts, Observers & Decision Makers |
Frontmatter: Multi-Claim Array claims: [{ id, statement, verdict, notes }] | CONDITIONAL | Mandatory if the paper presents ≥ 2 independent theorems/corollaries. Audience: Specialists & Multi-Discipline Evaluators |
Frontmatter: Auditable Logic Ledger ledger: [{ refId, location, reviewerAnalysis, status, severity }] | MANDATORY | Traceable, equation-level proof verification (PASS, FAIL, GAP_DETECTED). Audience: Manuscript Authors & Skeptical Academics |
Section 1: Executive Summary & Formal Claims 1.1 Intuition, 1.2 Formal AMS Claims, 1.3 Axiomatic Model | MANDATORY | High-level non-technical intuition + exact mathematical statements + explicit axiomatic baseline. Audience: General Readers & Discipline Specialists |
Section 2: Gowers' Tricki Heuristic Decomposition 2.1 Core Strategy ("The Trick"), 2.2 Known Obstruction Barriers | RECOMMENDED | High-signal mathematical decomposition of the author's intuitive trick vs. known obstruction barriers. Audience: Theoretical Mathematicians & Meta-Researchers |
Section 3: Computational & Proof-Code Audit 3.1 Python/AST Static Sweeps, 3.2 Formal Lean4/Coq Kernels | CONDITIONAL | Mandatory whenever a paper provides numerical scripts or claims Lean4 mechanization. Audience: Formal Verification Specialists & Research Coders |
Section 4: Stress-Testing & Counterexamples 4.1 Boundary Analysis (N=1, ∞), 4.2 Minimal Counterexample | RECOMMENDED | Boundary testing and minimal counterexample constructions to definitively falsify or bound a claim. Audience: Critical Reviewers & Field Experts |
Section 5: Epistemic Verdict & Remediation Vector 5.1 Verdict Synthesis, 5.2 Constructive Author Remediation | MANDATORY | Clear rationale for the assigned epistemic state + precise, constructive guidance on how to fix gaps. Audience: Manuscript Authors (Highest Priority) |
Section 6: Citable Metadata & HAL Archival Block Standardized BibTeX + HAL/Zenodo repository schema | MANDATORY | Archival metadata for academic citation and 1-click European open-access repository ingestion. Audience: Academic Citers & Archival Repositories |
The 6 Core Review Sections Explained
How each section of the review serves both scientific rigor and constructive author remediation.
1Executive Summary & Formal Claims (MANDATORY)
MANDATORYContains three essential components:
- 1.1 Plain-Language Intuition: Written specifically for science enthusiasts and cross-domain observers to grasp the core hypothesis without needing a PhD in the specific sub-field.
- 1.2 Formal AMS Theorem Statements: Exact mathematical notation and formal claims stated with rigorous bounds.
- 1.3 Axiomatic Foundation & Model: Explicitly lists foundational axioms (e.g. ZFC, Peano Arithmetic, Standard Model) and external lemmas relied upon.
2Heuristic Strategy & Barrier Triage (RECOMMENDED)
RECOMMENDEDInspired by Fields Medalist Sir Timothy Gowers' Tricki, this section deconstructs the author's primary intuition ("The Trick") and cross-examines it against known obstruction barriers in the mathematical literature (e.g. The Parity Problem, Relativization, Natural Proofs Barrier).
3Computational & Proof-Code Verification (CONDITIONAL)
CONDITIONALMandatory whenever a paper supplies Python simulators, C++ numerical models, or claims mechanized formalization (Lean 4, Coq, Isabelle). Evaluates static AST structures for mock oracles and checks Lean 4 kernel compilation with 0 unproven axioms.
4Stress-Testing & Counterexample Analysis (RECOMMENDED)
RECOMMENDEDTests base cases (e.g. N = 1), asymptotic limits (N → ∞), and attempts minimal counterexample constructions to empirically stress-test the derivation limits.
5Epistemic Verdict & Author Remediation Vector (MANDATORY)
MANDATORYThe most important section for manuscript authors: It synthesizes the assigned epistemic verdict and provides specific, actionable mathematical steps the author can take to bridge identified logic gaps or upgrade the paper's verdict to PROVABLE.
6Citable Metadata & HAL Conversion Block (MANDATORY)
MANDATORYProvides standardized BibTeX citations and European open-access repository schemas (HAL / Zenodo) for academic attribution:
@article{penta_ledger_2026_003,
title = {Epistemic Plausibility Audit: [Submitted Manuscript Title]},
author = {[Lead Auditor Name] and {The Penta-Ledger Verification Unit}},
journal = {The Penta-Ledger},
year = {2026},
month = {08},
note = {Cryptographic Document SHA-256: [hash]. Assigned Verdict: POSSIBLE.},
url = {https://penta-ledger.org/reviews/[review-slug]},
doi = {10.5281/zenodo.[zenodo-id]}
}Pre-Publishing Auditor Quality Checklist (10 Quality Gates)
Auditors must verify all 10 quality gates prior to publishing any review to the immutable ledger: