Sigma Runtime Standard - Public Specification Notice
This document is part of the Sigma Runtime Standard (SRS) public specification layer.Specification License: CC BY 4.0.
Implementation Safe Harbor: independent implementation permitted under public SRS/SRIP terms.
Machine-readable artifacts: Apache License 2.0 where explicitly marked.
Marks / Certification: governed by Sigma Marks and Certification Policy.
Proprietary Runtime Assets: not licensed by this SRIP.Independent implementations of public SRS/SRIP normative requirements are welcome under the public specification terms.
Product assets, protected Sigma marks, official certification, compatibility badges, CC BY-NC commercial use, and patent commitments use the relevant policy or explicit covenant. Independent implementation, attribution, or citation does not imply certification, endorsement, partnership, official compatibility, or permission to use Sigma marks as product identity.
Sigma Runtime Improvement Proposal
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SRIP | SRIP-03 |
| Title | Drift Metrics & Stabilization Algorithms |
| Version | Foundational Draft |
| Status | Draft |
| Date | 2026-04-17 |
| Authors / Contributors | E. Tsaliev |
| Owning Layer | Stability / Safety |
| Parent Specs | SRIP-00, SRIP-02 |
| Related Specs | SRIP-04, SRIP-06, SRIP-07, SRIP-08, SRIP-10 |
| Specification License | CC BY 4.0 |
| Implementation Safe Harbor | Independent implementation permitted under public SRS/SRIP terms |
| Machine-Readable Artifacts | Apache 2.0 where explicitly marked |
| Marks / Certification | Governed by Sigma Marks and Certification Policy |
| Proprietary Runtime Assets | Not licensed by this SRIP |
| Independent Implementation | Permitted under the public specification terms |
| Commercial Runtime Boundary | Relevant policy or explicit covenant for protected Sigma marks, official certification, managed deployment, white-label, resale, CC BY-NC commercial use, and patent commitments |
| Information Class | Open |
| Change Class | SRS-only |
| Normative Status | Defines the public drift metric vocabulary, threshold model, and stabilization behavior for foundational runtime coherence. |
| Conformance Level | Public Draft / Foundational |
| SRD Synchronization Action | Deferred review |
| Release Alignment Status | Foundational draft; no production conformance claim is made by this document alone. |
Public Note
This foundational document retains the core drift formulas and thresholds while using version-light public control language.
Earlier branded control vocabulary remains part of lineage history, not the active public baseline.
Independent implementations of the public normative requirements in this SRIP are welcome under the applicable public specification terms.
No Sigma commercial runtime license is needed solely because an independent implementation follows those public normative requirements.
Product assets, protected Sigma marks, official certification, compatibility badges, CC BY-NC commercial use, and patent commitments use the relevant policy or explicit covenant. Independent implementation, attribution, or citation does not imply certification, endorsement, partnership, official compatibility, or permission to use Sigma marks as product identity.
SRIP-03 defines the drift quantification model and the stabilization feedback algorithms that maintain semantic and symbolic coherence within the Sigma Runtime.
It extends SRIP-02 by providing the mathematical and procedural basis for continuous self-correction during recursive operation.
In recursive reasoning systems, drift represents gradual semantic or structural degradation of meaning.
Without feedback control, drift leads to attractor collapse, hallucination, or loss of control alignment.
This document provides formal metrics and recovery rules ensuring that the runtime remains bounded, interpretable, and reversible.
| Type | Description | Primary Source |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic Drift (SDI) | Deviation in conceptual meaning across cycles. | Symbolic entropy, prompt divergence. |
| Symbolic Drift (SV) | Distortion of motif or token-level density. | Over-compression, redundancy decay. |
| Control Posture Drift (PD) | Misalignment between current and expected runtime control posture. | Runtime control telemetry imbalance. |
Each drift type contributes to the Composite Drift Index (DI) used in stabilization algorithms.
The Composite Drift Index integrates multiple metrics with adaptive weighting:
[
DI_t = \frac{SDI_t + SV_t + PD_t}{3 \cdot SCR_t}
]
Where:
A runtime is considered nominally stable when DI < 0.45.
| Metric | Normal Range | Reflective Trigger | Recovery Trigger | Critical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDI | 0.00–0.35 | ≥0.35 | ≥0.45 | >0.55 |
| SV | 0.00–0.40 | ≥0.40 | ≥0.55 | >0.65 |
| PD | 0.00–0.25 | ≥0.25 | ≥0.35 | >0.45 |
| SCR | 0.65–0.95 | ≤0.65 | ≤0.55 | <0.45 |
| DI | 0.00–0.45 | 0.45–0.50 -> reflective posture | >=0.60 -> controlled recovery posture | >0.70 = critical instability |
When DI ≥ 0.5, the attractor enters a reflective recovery posture;
when DI ≥ 0.6, the runtime must initiate a controlled recovery transition as defined by foundational safety and runtime-control telemetry.
This replaces the previous ambiguous “yellow zone” between 0.45–0.6 with fixed deterministic control boundaries.
| Condition | Control Transition | Runtime Action | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
DI < 0.45 |
Stable | Maintain equilibrium | Normal recursion and coherence. |
0.45 ≤ DI < 0.5 |
Reflective | Begin introspective correction | Minor drift; attractor self-adjustment. |
0.5 ≤ DI < 0.6 |
Reflective | Apply damping and re-anchoring | Controlled coherence recovery. |
DI ≥ 0.6 |
Recovery | Suspend recursion and restore from PIL snapshot | Major drift; runtime realignment. |
DI ≥ 0.7 |
Critical | Enter containment lock | Safety isolation and field reset. |
Note: The table above covers DI-centric transitions. The crystallization extension in § 6.1 is retained as a later bounded amendment note for over-stability scenarios.
This extension addresses over-stability scenarios where DI remains low but the system becomes structurally rigid.
| Condition | Control Transition | Control Action | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
convergence telemetry stays convergent for N cycles AND stability > 0.85 |
STABLE → CRYSTALLIZATION | Begin active destabilization | Format or lexical rigidity detected. |
| stability < 0.70 (in CRYSTALLIZATION) | CRYSTALLIZATION → REFLECTION | Resume normal phase recovery | Rigidity broken. |
| convergence telemetry exits convergent zone | CRYSTALLIZATION → STABLE | Return to equilibrium | Convergent rigidity condition resolved. |
Trigger conditions:
zone: convergent for N consecutive cycles (default: 5)Destabilization mechanism:
The stabilization system operates as an adaptive feedback controller coupled with the runtime control layer:
if DI >= 0.6:
control_posture = "recovery"
realign_control_state()
elif DI >= 0.5:
control_posture = "reflective"
apply_density_damping()
elif SCR < 0.65:
reinforce_attractor_core()
else:
maintain_equilibrium()
This loop maintains bounded recursion, preemptive drift correction, and dynamic control containment.
| Mode | Description | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Runaway Recursion | Self-amplifying loops without closure. | Hard recursion limit → recenter() |
| Semantic Collapse | Total loss of coherence (DI > 0.75). | Quarantine + reset volatile field. |
| Recovery Oscillation | Control posture oscillation between reflective and recovery states. | Containment-lock timeout. |
| Over-Damping | Excessive semantic compression → stagnation. | Lift damping, resume normal density. |
| Identity Hyper-Correction / Sterile Attractor | Over-stabilization of self-identity signals leading to loss of natural variance and pragmatic fluidity. Detected between cycles 91–110. | Enable pragmatic weight counter, detect identity saturation, and rebalance symbolic variance. |
| Format Crystallization (Liturgy) | Structural rigidity where response format becomes fixed while semantic content drifts. Detected via low SDI + high format repetition. | Stability crystallization extension (§ 6.1) — active destabilization triggered by convergent telemetry detection. |
Boundaries ensure that stabilization remains recoverable and does not induce long-term cognitive paralysis or identity over-fixation.
Drift management integrates with:
A runtime conforms to SRIP-03 if it:
Planned enhancements:
References
Tsaliev, E. (2025). SIGMA Runtime Architecture v0.1 — DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17703667