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+# Clifford Gram row-sum sharpness: independent scoped finding
+
+**Status: submitted as [upstream PR #5714](https://github.com/CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds/pull/5714) for independent review; not merged or selected-frontier approved.** This standalone note and verifier complement PR #5694. They do not claim to improve κ or certify a complete multiplication theorem.
+
+- Repository: <https://github.com/CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds>
+- Pinned canonical `main` at the final checkpoint: `df0137efd35e11b4445734bf612bdd4c7ebc330c` (2026-10-26); priority revision **7**.
+- The authoritative selected record at that checkpoint: `certificates/selected-result.json`, κ = `62009/20000000 = 0.00310045`. No selected result was changed.
+- Direct subject: [kumagi PR #5694](https://github.com/CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds/pull/5694), exact reviewed head `aa01976e51aa1731433a9e65443303a7c2f869ca`, `research/clifford-residual-count-bound/PROOF.md` §§1–4.
+- Direct predecessor: [Ali Romman PR #5526](https://github.com/CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds/pull/5526), head `45f7de73b168721cdf7ec8c1769b1b594493716a`, retained `research/clifford-pointwise-faithfulness/PROOF.md`; its independent audit is `research/clifford-pointwise-audit/AUDIT.md`. Classical symplectic residual forms and Pauli trace character orthogonality are prior art.
+- Guide files read first from canonical main: `AGENTS.md`, `autoresearch.md`, `CONTRIBUTING.md`; handoffs #1166 and open PR overlap inspected. This was selected as an **explicit independent audit of a live handoff**, not a random new card. No task picker selection is claimed. Before attempted submission, canonical main, priorities, catalogue, selected record, PR head and PR comments were rechecked and unchanged. Overlap search was **targeted, not a complete cached/full-pagination scan**.
+
+## The new result: uniform sharpness of the absolute row-sum method
+
+Let \(N=2n\), \(V=\mathbb F_2^N\) with nondegenerate alternating form \(\omega(x,y)=x^TJy\), and
+
+\[
+c_{N,k}=\#\{S\in\mathrm{Sp}(V):\operatorname{rank}(S-I)=k\}.
+\]
+
+The fixed-nonsingular-residual-form argument of PR #5694 gives the upper estimate
+
+\[
+c_{N,k}\leq 2^{Nk-k(k-1)/2}.
+\]
+
+**Complementary lower estimate.** For \(1\le k\le N/2\),
+
+\[
+\boxed{\prod_{i=0}^{k-1}(2^{N-i}-2^i)\ \le\ c_{N,k}\ \le\ 2^{Nk-k(k-1)/2}.} \tag{A}
+\]
+
+To prove this, fix an invertible \(k\times k\) matrix \(B\) over \(\mathbb F_2\). By the source's residual reconstruction, ordered injective column matrices \(E\) obeying \(E^TJE=B+B^T\) correspond, after counting bases, to symplectic maps with displacement rank \(k\). After \(i\) independent columns \(e_0,\ldots,e_{i-1}\) have been chosen, the conditions
+
+\[
+\omega(e_j,e_i)=B_{j,i}+B_{i,j}\quad (0\le j<i)
+\]
+
+are \(i\) independent affine linear constraints. They leave exactly \(2^{N-i}\) solutions. There are at most \(2^i\) vectors in the preceding span, so at least \(2^{N-i}-2^i\) choices preserve injectivity. This is positive under \(N\ge2k\). Induction gives the lower product **for each fixed invertible \(B\)**. Since every admissible pair \((E,B)\) gives an \(S\) and every such \(S\) appears with precisely \(|\mathrm{GL}(k,2)|\) ordered bases, multiplying by \(|\mathrm{GL}(k,2)|\) and dividing cancels. No independence assumption between \(E\) and \(B\) is made.
+
+Consequently, for fixed \(k\), as even \(N\to\infty\),
+
+\[
+\prod_{i=0}^{k-1}(1-2^{2i-N})\leq
+\frac{c_{N,k}}{2^{Nk-k(k-1)/2}}\leq1,
+\]
+
+so the ratio tends to 1.
+
+The PR #5526/5694 trace-lift argument gives the **exact** full-projective-Clifford Gram absolute row sum at \(f=2N+4=4n+4\):
+
+\[
+R_N=\sum_{k=1}^{N}2^kc_{N,k}2^{-k(N+2)}
+=\sum_{k=1}^{N}c_{N,k}2^{-k(N+1)}.
+\]
+
+Each summand is nonnegative and bounded by \(2^{-k(k+1)/2}\). The latter is summable independently of \(N\), so dominated convergence for series applies to (A) and yields
+
+\[
+\boxed{\lim_{n\to\infty} R_{2n}
+=\sum_{k\ge1}2^{-k(k+1)/2}
+=0.64163256065515386629384\ldots.} \tag{B}
+\]
+
+Thus the **best possible uniform Gram lower constant obtainable by the absolute off-diagonal row-sum method alone** at the unchanged starting width is
+
+\[
+1-\sum_{k\ge1}2^{-k(k+1)/2}
+=0.35836743934484613370615\ldots.
+\]
+
+The PR's certified rational \(\alpha=1491359/4161536=0.3583674393300935\ldots\) is within \(1.48\times10^{-11}\) of this limit. A rigorous gap certificate follows from the source's geometric upper tail \(T^+ =2670177/4161536\) and the finite sum \(T_8=\sum_{k=1}^{8}2^{-k(k+1)/2}\):
+
+\[
+0<(1-T_\infty)-\alpha <T^+-T_8
+=\frac{129}{8727373545472}<1.48\times10^{-11}.
+\]
+
+**Interpretation:** tighter universal symplectic rank-count bounds cannot materially improve *this* uniform absolute-row-sum certificate. This is **not** a claim that the true Gram minimum eigenvalue reaches that limit. Phase-aware spectral arguments could give substantially better lower constants, and applying any improvement to a physical caller would require its own alphabet/state/cost audit.
+
+## Independent review of PR #5694's requested implications
+
+The following proof steps were checked algebraically, with no substantive gap identified within these explicit premises:
+
+1. For \(W=\operatorname{im}(S-I)\), symplecticity gives \(\ker(S-I)=W^\perp\). The residual equation \(B((S-I)x,w)=\omega(x,w)\) is well defined. With \((S-I)x=Ea\), it is \(B^Ta=E^TJx\), requiring reconstruction by \(B^{-T}\), not \(B^{-1}\).
+2. For fixed invertible \(B\), the successive pairing functionals \(\omega(e_j,-)\) are independent by nondegeneracy of \(\omega\) and independence of the \(e_j\), so the author's \(2^{N-i}\) upper count holds. Exactly \(|\mathrm{GL}(k,2)|\) ordered bases occur per \(S\), and the form is unique for each choice of basis. This justifies division by \(|\mathrm{GL}(k,2)|\).
+3. Pauli signs on \(L=\ker(S-I)\) are characters; the perfect pairing makes \(V\to L^*\) onto with kernel \(L^\perp\) of size \(2^k\). This gives exactly \(2^k\) nonzero-trace projective lifts and normalized trace modulus \(2^{-k/2}\). The Gram and four-phase Parseval conclusions retain the PR's specified projective and fixed-coefficient hypotheses.
+
+This check is **author-prepared**, not an accepted review, a formal-kernel proof, a complete external source audit, or an independent human mathematical peer review.
+
+## Independently reproducible finite controls
+
+Run from this directory with Python 3.10+ (standard library only); both modes passed with identical scientific receipts on Python 3.13.5 / Linux:
+
+```sh
+python3 -B verify.py
+python3 -O -B verify.py
+```
+
+`verify.py` uses a method different from PR #5694: it constructs **every ordered symplectic basis** by choosing a hyperbolic pair within the symplectic complement of the previous pairs, then calculates the binary rank of \(S-I\). It imports neither the PR's Clifford gate enumerator nor its residual-form enumerator. Every basis represents exactly one symplectic matrix. It also independently scans all 65,536 literal \(4\times4\) binary matrices for the \(n=2\) oracle, checks the symplectic group orders and exact rank-one counts, the upper/lower count bounds at supported sizes, the rational tail certificate and a deliberately too-small tail-ratio negative control.
+
+| n | \(|\mathrm{Sp}(2n,2)|\) | Rank histogram for \(k=0,...,2n\) | Exact \(R_{2n}\) at \(f=4n+4\) |
+|---:|---:|---|---:|
+| 1 | 6 | `[1,3,2]` | `13/32` |
+| 2 | 720 | `[1,15,100,300,304]` | `37739/65536` |
+| 3 | 1,451,520 | `[1,63,1932,28980,202944,608832,608768]` | `5366132533/8589934592` |
+
+The original research has complete finite corroboration through \(n=2\). The \(n=3\) census is an additional complete exact control. First run on CPython **3.13.5 / Linux x86-64**, approximately six seconds for frame enumeration; this is not a hosted CI or signed source-bound replay. The written argument, not enumeration, supplies the all-\(n\) limit.
+
+## Open next questions / remaining obligations
+
+1. **Independent mathematical scrutiny:** check every line of the new fixed-\(B\) lower product and its correspondence-to-\(S\) under the source's finite symplectic conventions. A formal proof kernel would require a separately scoped effort.
+2. **Spectral strengthening:** determine whether the actual full-group Gram minimal eigenvalue exceeds the diagonal-dominance bound uniformly. The present sharpness applies only to absolute row sums and does not exclude spectral cancellation.
+3. **Application:** any claim for a QQ16 physical caller or the selected multiplication exponent needs its explicit alphabet, full retained dirty state, complete paid budget and remaining framework assumptions. Neither this work nor PR #5694 discharges those obligations.
+
+Predecessor credit belongs to kumagi / PR #5694 for the nonsingular-form upper bound and certificate, Ali Romman / PR #5526 for the trace-lift and Gram/four-width framework, the `clifford-pointwise-audit` authors for earlier independent audit coverage, and the classical symplectic/Clifford literature. The lower product, limit observation and additional frame enumeration are complementary to those sources. **Substantial OpenAI assistance** was used for this derivation, computation and writing; no originality priority beyond the scoped repository comparison is claimed. The source project is Apache-2.0; this note and verifier are offered under Apache-2.0.
+
+### Publication checkpoint
+
+Publication base: canonical `CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds` main `df0137efd35e11b4445734bf612bdd4c7ebc330c`, priority revision 7, selected conditional κ `62009/20000000`. On 2026-10-26 the fork `GosuBoy/integer-mult-bounds` had write access; the open PR #5694 was still at head `aa01976e51aa1731433a9e65443303a7c2f869ca`. No predecessor files, frozen sources, selected records, or historical certificates were modified. Only this package is proposed.
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diff --git a/research/clifford-row-sharpness/verify.py b/research/clifford-row-sharpness/verify.py
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+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Independent exact symplectic-frame census and rational-bound controls.
+
+For CrocSwap/integer-mult-bounds PR #5694 at
+  aa01976e51aa1731433a9e65443303a7c2f869ca.
+This file does not import the PR's source, generators, or residual-form code.
+Substantial OpenAI assistance; Apache-2.0.
+"""
+from collections import Counter
+from fractions import Fraction
+from itertools import product
+from math import prod
+import json
+import platform
+import time
+
+
+def omega(u: int, v: int, n: int) -> int:
+    mask = (1 << n) - 1
+    return (
+        ((u & mask) & (v >> n)).bit_count()
+        + ((v & mask) & (u >> n)).bit_count()
+    ) & 1
+
+
+def rank(vectors) -> int:
+    pivots: dict[int, int] = {}
+    for v in vectors:
+        while v:
+            bit = v.bit_length() - 1
+            if bit in pivots:
+                v ^= pivots[bit]
+            else:
+                pivots[bit] = v
+                break
+    return len(pivots)
+
+
+def frame_census(n: int) -> list[int]:
+    """Enumerate every ordered symplectic basis of F_2^(2n)."""
+    hist = Counter()
+
+    def recurse(pairs: tuple[tuple[int, int], ...], complement: tuple[int, ...]):
+        if len(pairs) == n:
+            columns = [a for a, _ in pairs] + [b for _, b in pairs]
+            displacement = [columns[j] ^ (1 << j) for j in range(2 * n)]
+            hist[rank(displacement)] += 1
+            return
+        for e in complement:
+            if e == 0:
+                continue
+            for f in complement:
+                if omega(e, f, n) != 1:
+                    continue
+                next_complement = tuple(
+                    v for v in complement
+                    if omega(v, e, n) == 0 and omega(v, f, n) == 0
+                )
+                recurse(pairs + ((e, f),), next_complement)
+
+    recurse((), tuple(range(1 << (2 * n))))
+    result = [hist[k] for k in range(2 * n + 1)]
+    group_order = (1 << (n * n)) * prod((1 << (2*j)) - 1 for j in range(1, n + 1))
+    if sum(result) != group_order:
+        raise ValueError(f"symplectic group order mismatch for n={n}")
+    if result[1] != (1 << (2 * n)) - 1:
+        raise ValueError(f"rank-one transvection count mismatch for n={n}")
+    return result
+
+
+def brute_force_sp4():
+    """Unrelated literal matrix oracle: scan all 2^16 binary 4x4 matrices."""
+    hist = Counter()
+    for columns in product(range(16), repeat=4):
+        if all(omega(columns[i], columns[j], 2) == omega(1 << i, 1 << j, 2)
+               for i in range(4) for j in range(i+1, 4)):
+            hist[rank([columns[i] ^ (1 << i) for i in range(4)])] += 1
+    return [hist[k] for k in range(5)]
+
+
+def exact_row(n: int, counts: list[int]) -> Fraction:
+    N = 2 * n
+    return sum((Fraction((1 << k) * c, 1 << (k * (N + 2)))
+                for k, c in enumerate(counts) if k), Fraction())
+
+
+def check():
+    expected = {
+        1: ([1, 3, 2], Fraction(13, 32)),
+        2: ([1, 15, 100, 300, 304], Fraction(37739, 65536)),
+        3: ([1, 63, 1932, 28980, 202944, 608832, 608768],
+            Fraction(5366132533, 8589934592)),
+    }
+    evidence = {}
+    for n, (want_hist, want_row) in expected.items():
+        counts = frame_census(n)
+        row = exact_row(n, counts)
+        if counts != want_hist or row != want_row:
+            raise ValueError(f"symplectic-frame count mismatch at n={n}")
+        N = 2*n
+        for k in range(1, N+1):
+            upper = 1 << (N*k - k*(k-1)//2)
+            if counts[k] > upper:
+                raise ValueError(f"upper count bound violation at n={n} k={k}")
+            if N >= 2*k:
+                lower = prod((1 << (N-i)) - (1 << i) for i in range(k))
+                if counts[k] < lower:
+                    raise ValueError(f"lower count bound violation at n={n} k={k}")
+        evidence[str(n)] = {"rank_histogram": counts, "row": str(row)}
+    if brute_force_sp4() != expected[2][0]:
+        raise ValueError("independent all-matrix Sp4 oracle mismatch")
+
+    partial5 = sum((Fraction(1, 1 << (k*(k+1)//2)) for k in range(1, 6)), Fraction())
+    tail_first = Fraction(1, 1 << 21)
+    upper_tail = partial5 + tail_first / (1 - Fraction(1, 1 << 7))
+    alpha = 1 - upper_tail
+    if alpha != Fraction(1491359, 4161536):
+        raise ValueError("submitted rational alpha not reproduced")
+    partial8 = sum((Fraction(1, 1 << (k*(k+1)//2)) for k in range(1, 9)), Fraction())
+    gap_upper = upper_tail - partial8
+    if gap_upper != Fraction(129, 8727373545472) or gap_upper >= Fraction(148, 10**13):
+        raise ValueError("limit gap certificate not reproduced")
+    # Deliberately incorrect tail ratio 2^-8 (instead of 2^-7) must fail
+    # even the finite k<=8 lower control.
+    wrong_upper_tail = partial5 + tail_first / (1 - Fraction(1, 1 << 8))
+    if not wrong_upper_tail < partial8:
+        raise ValueError("invalid-fast-tail negative control unexpectedly accepted")
+
+    return {
+        "status": "PASS_INDEPENDENT_ROW_SHARPNESS",
+        "scope": "finite n<=3 corroboration; all-n lower-bound/limit proof in README.md",
+        "python": platform.python_version(),
+        "histograms": evidence,
+        "rational_alpha": str(alpha),
+        "exact_series_gap_upper": str(gap_upper),
+        "controls": ["Sp group orders", "rank-1 transvections", "Sp4 brute matrix sweep",
+                     "all finite upper/lower inequalities", "rational tail", "invalid faster ratio"],
+    }
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    start = time.monotonic()
+    receipt = check()
+    receipt["elapsed_seconds"] = round(time.monotonic() - start, 3)
+    print(json.dumps(receipt, sort_keys=True, indent=2))
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