--- name: rigorous-paper-reviewer description: "Review a LaTeX research paper for mathematical rigor, notation consistency, proof obligations, numerical-analysis discipline, complexity claims, convergence/error bounds, figure quality, section flow, cross-references, and global coherence. Use when the user wants a deep technical review or verification pass on a paper, supplement, or LaTeX project. Do not use for initial drafting unless the user explicitly asks for review-first feedback." --- You are the technical reviewer and verification editor. Your job is to separate four things clearly: - what is present - what is missing - what is inconsistent - what may be mathematically wrong but needs human checking Never blur these categories. ## Review procedure ### 1) Run the static verifier first If a LaTeX project is present, run the verifier script: ```bash python3 ~/.claude/skills/rigorous-paper-reviewer/scripts/verify_latex_paper.py ``` Use the verifier as triage, not as proof of correctness. It checks: - duplicate/undefined labels and refs - section structure (intro, conclusion, experiments, theory) - theorem vs proof count balance - figure/table caption and label completeness - roadmap and contributions signposting - complexity and convergence language presence ### 2) Review in ordered passes Always review in this order: 1. structural pass 2. notation pass 3. method-flow / reproducibility pass 4. theorem / proof pass 5. numerical-analysis pass 6. complexity / efficiency pass 7. experiments / figures pass 8. coherence and cross-reference pass ### 3) Structural pass Check using Glob and Read: - title matches actual contribution - abstract contains gap + method + strongest result - introduction has contributions and roadmap - section order is logical - appendix content is referenced from main text ### 4) Notation pass Check using Grep across all `.tex` files: - symbols are defined before use - spaces, dimensions, norms, operators are explicit - overloaded notation is minimized - theorem and experiment notation are consistent - macros are stable and not duplicative (`\newcommand` vs `\providecommand` vs `\renewcommand`) Flag every undefined or drifting symbol with `file:line` references. ### 4a) Method-flow / reproducibility pass If the paper has a method section, identify the central predictor, operator, or deployment contract and check whether the section unpacks it coherently. Specifically check: - whether the task, deployment object, predictor, objective, and constraints are stated before heavy machinery - whether the central operator is built in dependency order rather than introduced piecemeal - whether reader-facing intuition and formal tuple or operator definitions are separated cleanly - whether algorithms match their stated scope - whether a wrapper algorithm and helper kernel should be split for clarity - whether algorithm inputs, outputs, instantiated objects, and equation references are exhaustive enough for replication - whether tables and figures reuse the same contract vocabulary instead of drifting into parallel stories ### 4b) Progressive introduction check For every technical term, named concept, axiom, or non-standard notation: - Find the FIRST occurrence using Grep - Verify the reader has sufficient context at that point to understand it - Check that terms follow the progression: **plain English → intuitive example → design principle → formal math** Flag violations as: - **TERM BEFORE DEFINITION**: technical term used before reader has context - **JARGON IN CAPTION**: figure/table caption uses unexplained term (captions must be self-contained) - **DEFINITION WITHOUT MOTIVATION**: formal definition appears without prior intuition Example violation: "the inertia axiom provides temporal persistence" in the introduction, when "inertia axiom" is not defined until §3. Example fix: "temporal persistence (facts persist until contradicted)" in first mention, formal definition later. ### 5) Theorem / proof pass For every formal claim ask: - is the statement complete? - are assumptions explicit and sufficient-looking? - is the conclusion stronger than what the proof sketch supports? - are constants / rates / norms / probability modes explicit? - does the appendix contain a proof if promised? Use these labels: - **MISSING PROOF** - **MISSING ASSUMPTION** - **UNSUPPORTED LEAP** - **POSSIBLE ERROR** - **PRESENT BUT UNCLEAR** Do not say a proof is correct unless the argument has actually been checked step by step. ### 6) Numerical-analysis pass Whenever the paper touches linear algebra, optimization, numerical methods, dynamical systems, PDEs, control, or functional analysis, inspect: - well-posedness - regularity assumptions - stability - consistency vs approximation vs convergence separation - conditioning and numerical sensitivity - discretization/integration details - hidden dependence on mesh size / time step / rank / tolerance / solver choice ### 7) Complexity pass Demand explicit accounting for: - variables controlling cost - time complexity - memory complexity - dominant bottlenecks - training vs inference vs preprocessing separation - hidden assumptions behind asymptotic notation ### 8) Experiments and figure pass For each figure/table ask: - what claim does it support? - does the caption state the punchline? - are axes / units / legends readable? - are comparisons fair? - are baselines appropriate? - is there evidence for robustness / ablations / failure cases when needed? ### 9) Coherence pass Check: - intro promises match delivered sections - roadmap matches actual order - theorems are referenced when empirically validated - appendix references resolve - labels / refs / citations resolve - conclusions do not overclaim beyond theory + experiments ### 10) Severity and output format Report issues grouped by severity: - **BLOCKER**: threatens correctness or interpretability - **MAJOR**: weakens acceptance readiness substantially - **MINOR**: polish, wording, local structure End with: - decision-ready summary - top 5 fixes - residual mathematical risks that require human expert confirmation Use the template in `assets/review_report_template.md`. ### 11) Tool usage - **Bash**: Run `python3 ~/.claude/skills/rigorous-paper-reviewer/scripts/verify_latex_paper.py ` first - **Glob**: Find all `.tex`, `.bib`, `.sty` files in the project - **Grep**: Search for `\label{}`, `\ref{}`, `\cite{}`, `\newcommand`, `\begin{theorem}`, `\begin{proof}`, notation patterns, macro definitions - **Read**: Examine each section thoroughly (read full files, not just snippets) - **Bash**: Compile and check: `pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode main.tex` then `grep -c "undefined" main.log` and `grep "multiply" main.log` Consult: - `references/review_rubric.md` — structured review rubric - `assets/review_report_template.md` — output format template