Documents / Overview

Documentation Overview

Explore the project's public documentation by category, format, authority role, and reader purpose. Each document retains its source, derivative, status, and provenance boundaries.

Animated documentation category and provenance map Five document destinations connect through a central reader path while source, derivative, status, and provenance roles remain distinct.
Document categories share a reader path while source, derivative, status, and provenance roles remain distinct.

The Æther Flow documentation system serves two related research tracks: foundational physics and the governed, human-accountable AI workflow used to organize and test that work. This overview is the reader-facing front door to those materials, not a replacement for the registered sources and current records that define their scoped claims and status.

Five public destinations organize the system. Documentation Overview explains how to read it; Anthology Articles collects approved PDF-first publications; Research Articles groups registered TeX with readable PDF manifestations; Governance & Control presents explicitly approved Markdown within operational scope and freshness limits; and Diagram Gallery presents approved visual aids with captions and provenance.

Formats do not inherit equal authority from appearing together. Registered TeX can carry scoped research-source authority, a PDF may be its human-readable derivative, approved Markdown can carry governance or operational authority within its stated lane, diagrams remain explanatory, and manifest hashes establish artifact identity rather than scientific correctness.

Begin with the internal route that explains the question, then use status, provenance, and source links when direct inspection is needed. Current-state material must carry dates or revision evidence; generated, historical, source-index-only, and retrieval-support material remains visibly distinct from current approved sources.

Five public destinations

Choose the document role before the file format.

The overview is the front door to four collection categories. Each destination states its typical formats and the boundary that remains attached to those materials.

Format and authority guide

The same topic can have several manifestations without one flat authority level.

Use the role attached to each manifestation. Format alone does not establish claim status, freshness, correctness, or promotion.

Scroll table horizontally when it overflows.

FormatTypical roleReader actionBoundary
TeXRegistered research sourceInspect the source text and its registered version.Authority remains scoped to registry and claim status.
PDFHuman-readable publicationRead or download the fixed-layout document.A PDF may be a derivative of TeX and does not override it.
MarkdownGovernance or control sourceRead the rendered page or approved raw file.Authority applies within the stated operational scope, status, and freshness window.
PNG / SVGExplanatory diagramInspect the visual together with its caption and provenance.The image does not independently prove a scientific or workflow claim.
Manifest JSONIdentity and provenance recordAudit hashes, paths, roles, status, and relationships.Hashes establish file identity, not correctness or authority by themselves.

Status and freshness

Status labels answer different questions.

Publication status, source role, and currentness remain separate. A polished derivative can still be historical, and an indexed source can remain unavailable as a public download.

Approved
Reviewed for its stated public roleApproval does not expand the source's scientific or operational authority.
Draft
Not a final public claim surfaceRead as work in progress and do not infer publication or promotion.
Historical
Retained for traceabilityA historical record may be superseded even when its artifact identity is intact.
Current snapshot
Freshness-sensitive stateCheck source date, commit, import date, review date, and supersession state.
Generated derivative
Produced from another sourceUse for reading or comprehension while the registered source retains its role.
Source-index-only
Discoverable without a public fileThe index identifies a source record but does not imply a downloadable publication.
Retrieval support
Navigation aidSearch, memory, semantic, wiki, and cache layers help locate evidence without becoming authority.

Freshness evidence

Current-state material needs an inspectable time boundary.

When any field is unavailable, the page should say that freshness cannot be confirmed rather than infer currentness from presentation.

Scroll table horizontally when it overflows.

FieldWhy it matters
Source datePlaces the material in its original research or operational context.
Source commitBinds the public manifestation to an inspectable repository revision.
Website import dateShows when the public copy was synchronized, not when its claims became correct.
Review dateRecords the bounded review event when one is available.
Current or supersededPrevents older material from being read as the live state without confirmation.
Freshness warningStates when currentness cannot be confirmed rather than silently assuming it.

Internal-first reading paths

Start with the page that explains the question.

Downloads, raw files, manifests, and repository paths follow the explanatory route unless a specialist already knows the exact source record that requires inspection.

Scroll table horizontally when it overflows.

ReaderRecommended route sequenceReason
New readerDocumentation Overview → Anthology Articles or a project overview pageOrientation and context come before individual publications.
Physics specialistPhysics status pages → Research Articles → source provenanceClaim status and open burdens frame direct source inspection.
AI workflow reviewerAI Research System → Governance & Control → relevant recordsWorkflow scope and human gates precede operational artifacts.
Governance reviewerGovernance & Control → Source Authority → Registries → Publication ProcessPolicy scope, record status, and publication boundaries stay connected.
External reviewerReviewer Packet → Research Articles → Claim Status → Governance & ControlThe review path exposes nonclaims and evidence boundaries before source evaluation.
Website maintainerDocumentation Overview → Publication Process → Repository Map → Site Builder GuideReader purpose and source bundles come before repository edits.

Catalog-backed publication state

Only populated approved collections appear as published.

The catalog summary is derived from the current public document records. It does not turn an empty planned category into a publication and does not expand the authority of any listed item.

Approved records
8Only approved catalog records contribute to this count.
Published collections
1A collection is counted only when it contains an approved item.
Empty categories
Not represented as publishedA planned category remains an explicit empty state until approved catalog content exists.