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+# NSL / DR focus: graph neighbors without materializing repeated features
+
+Status: RESEARCH PROPOSAL, unimplemented. Scope: independent, falsifiable adapter experiment.
+
+## Existing reference points
+- NSL `tools/build_graph.py`: constructs weighted similarity edges from embeddings, including L2 normalization, cosine threshold, LSH buckets.
+- NSL `tools/pack_nbrs.py`: writes augmented TFRecords with neighbor features and weights, limited by max_neighbors.
+- NSL `keras/graph_regularization.py`: trains on neighbor logits; prediction/evaluation is delegated to base model.
+- lance-graph #1762 (merged): experimental FocusManager lease keyed by full SourceId, MapId and Scope, gathering facet i32 values once. It is a workspace-excluded probe; no production graph-regularizer API.
+
+## Hypothesis
+Instead of copying neighbor features into each seed record, preserve graph edges as stable ordinals/relations with SoA facets, and gather only the active focus. Preserve the NSL loss semantics, including directed edges, weights, repeated neighbors, top-k, tie-break and missing-neighbor rules. DR64/DR256 are candidate mask/address structures, NOT assumed universal graph storage.
+
+## Experiment
+1. Extract tiny deterministic graph/TFRecord fixture from NSL's own graph and pack tests, and a synthetic high-degree graph.
+2. Specify a neutral interchange: seed ID, neighbor ID, directed weighted edge, source revision and optional labeled/unlabeled status. Keep NSL's serialization untouched.
+3. Implement an isolated Rust prototype that maps IDs to sealed ordinals, stores SoA features, and gathers active neighbor rows under a lease; no runtime adapter in this PR.
+4. Compare generated neighbor batches and graph loss against unmodified NSL. Track zero-neighbor, duplicate edge, invalid ordinal, stale index seal and concurrency.
+5. Measure peak bytes, cold-start gather latency, repeated-focus latency and feature duplication as graph density increases.
+
+## Admission / falsifiers
+- Exact neighbor identity, order and weights vs NSL oracle at each seed.
+- Equal loss within a declared floating-point tolerance, with dtype/order stated; no blanket bit parity claim for TensorFlow.
+- Refuse stale seals and out-of-range ordinals BEFORE any gather/prefetch.
+- Compare cached and uncached paths; report cases where the focus lease loses.
+- Disable test for seal check, and anti-vacuity fixture where same feature is used by >1 seed.
+
+## Non-goals / boundary
+No claim that #1762 is production ready, that a DR³ layout exists, or that graph regularization proves causality. Do not modify TensorFlow runtime or teach graph construction to infer biomedical mechanisms.
+
+References: https://github.com/tensorflow/neural-structured-learning ; https://github.com/AdaWorldAPI/lance-graph/pull/1762
diff --git a/research/2026-10-25/01a-graph-focus-experiment-contract.md b/research/2026-10-25/01a-graph-focus-experiment-contract.md
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+# H1 / Executable experiment contract: NSL neighbors to sealed DR focus
+
+**Status:** proposed compatibility contract; no implementation or measured speedup. Companion to [PR #1](https://github.com/AdaWorldAPI/neural-structured-learning/pull/1).
+
+## Source-level semantics to preserve
+
+Read [graph_utils.py](../../neural_structured_learning/tools/graph_utils.py), [pack_nbrs.py](../../neural_structured_learning/tools/pack_nbrs.py), [build_graph.py](../../neural_structured_learning/tools/build_graph.py) and [graph_regularization.py](../../neural_structured_learning/keras/graph_regularization.py).
+
+1. A graph is directed, keyed by source ID and target ID. The TSV parser uses edge weight 1.0 when omitted. Multiple source-target entries collapse to the **maximum** weight. Explicitly symmetrizing the graph is a separate option; do not assume edges are bidirectional.
+2. Packing chooses outgoing neighbors that actually have a labeled or unlabeled Example, **sorts (weight, neighbor-ID) tuples in reverse order** and slices to max_nbrs; equal weight means lexicographically larger ID first. If the same ID is present in both tables, labeled seed features win.
+3. A copied record contains NL_num_nbrs, NL_nbr_N_weight and NL_nbr_N_<feature-name> for every selected neighbor. Never treat absence as a zero-weight invented neighbor. Zero neighbors must retain an explicit zero count.
+4. The graph builder's LSH buckets create candidate pairs, not an exact all-pairs nearest-neighbor guarantee when LSH is enabled. Its generated edges use L2-normalized embedding dot products. Comparing against an all-pairs oracle is a *different* experiment.
+5. graph_regularization.py applies the graph loss to **neighbor logits during training**; predict and evaluate delegate to the base model. Preserve loss function, reduction axis, weights and graph multiplier. Setting no neighbors or multiplier <=0 must result in zero added loss.
+6. If the TSV graph was written by graph_utils.py, weights are formatted using %f; compare after the same serialization/parse pipeline rather than assuming the source embedding float survives bit-identically.
+
+## Proposed read-only adapter (not actual Lance APIs)
+
+Input:
+- immutable SourceRef { dataset_id, branch_id, version, index_seal }, scope and MapId;
+- interned seed_ID / neighbor_ID dictionaries; immutable directed edges (src_ordinal, dst_ordinal, f32 weight);
+- typed SoA facet columns and declared per-feature lengths, null/absence policy;
+- requested neighbor cap (None or nonnegative integer), query fingerprint.
+
+Output:
+- NeighborBatch { seed_id, selected: ordered [ {neighbor_id, weight, source_id} ], view/references to typed feature columns };
+- a compatibility serialization procedure for producing the original NL_* TF Example oracle;
+- no implicit ID coercion, no NaN weight silently sorted, no cross-branch map reuse.
+
+**Scope note:** #1762 tested gathered i32 facet values under SourceId+MapId+Scope lease. A graph-loss wrapper needs float/logit and feature handling that does **not** exist merely because #1762 merged. Treat that work as a reusable experiment pattern, not a ready API.
+
+## Fixture table (write and freeze before any optimization)
+
+| Fixture | Graph input | Observable |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| G01 | A->B .2, A->C .7 | C then B |
+| G02 | A->B .4 and A->B .9 | exactly one B at .9 |
+| G03 | A->B .9, A->C .9 | C before B (reverse ID tiebreak) |
+| G04 | A->missing .99, A->B .1 | missing filtered, B selected |
+| G05 | B exists in both seed and unlabeled dictionaries | seed features take precedence |
+| G06 | A has no outgoing neighbors | NL_num_nbrs=0 and no NL_nbr_0_* |
+| G07 | A->B only, no symmetrization | B does not gain A as neighbor |
+| G08 | same seed/feature referenced by >=3 graph seeds | oracle parity, measure avoided bytes |
+| G09 | same ordinal map with changed index_seal | refuse before feature read |
+| G10 | same key concurrent load (>=8 readers) | exactly one gather if lease is shared |
+| G11 | cap 0, cap 1 and unlimited | correct truncation, no invented rows |
+| G12 | negative, NaN or infinite edge weights | explicit documented handling; do not derive a silently different total order from Python |
+
+Rows G01-G11 are *proposed golden test inputs*, not asserted test outcomes. For float tie tests, serialize/parse identically on both sides. The source implementation's behavior for pathological NaN/Inf ordering needs an explicit decision, not a presumed equivalence.
+
+## Comparison protocol
+
+- **Functional primary endpoint:** exact chosen (seed_ID, neighbor_ID, order, weight f32 bits after TSV parse) and copied NL_* feature values; graph-loss tolerance set per reduction and dtype, recording each mismatch.
+- **Cost endpoints:** packed TFRecord bytes; edge/ordinal/SoA/map bytes; peak resident memory; cold and warm gather latency p50/p95/p99; cache invalidation work; total sample preparation wall-time.
+- **Controls:** unmodified NSL, an uncomplicated Rust HashMap+SoA gather, and #1762-inspired sealed focus. Prefer simple path if focus adds cost.
+- **Workloads:** uniform and power-law degree distributions, isolated vertices, many shared neighbor features, maximal cap, high churn vs read-mostly.
+- **Disable/negative gates:** remove dedup-max; reverse tie rule; suppress seal check; bypass lease; all must trip their corresponding fixture.
+
+## Review boundary
+
+A passing adapter proves *behavioral equivalence of neighbor retrieval*, not clinical validity, speedup, or causality. Only after G01-G12 and memory/timing data should a implementation PR be opened in Lance-graph or a separate Rust experiment crate.