---
name: finding-multihop-rag-citation-axis-jameses-only
description: [2026-06-01, bucket-(a)] NO surprise — confirms JAMES's design. Worth
metadata:
  type: project
---

# Finding — multihop-rag-citation-axis-jameses-only (2026-06-01)

**Bucket**: (a)  
**Tags**: mechanism-candidate, universal-law

## Source entry (verbatim from `reports/research-runs/qvt-ablation-findings.md`)

- **bucket**: (a) — structural; JAMES's unique measurable contribution
- **cell context**: α-6 Phase 1, C_rag-graph → path 0 → 0.411 step
- **observation**: enabling S4 citation (bundled with S2+S3 in this
  batch, but isolated by C_rag-cited cell when next phase runs)
  drives path_coverage from 0.0 (no JAMES → no citation surface)
  to 0.411 (JAMES emits top-3 source documents per query). No
  regression on other axes from this layer.
- **surprise**: NO surprise — confirms JAMES's design. Worth
  promoting because *this is the one axis where vanilla LLM
  cannot compete by construction.* All other JAMES contributions
  are recoveries from RAG damage; the citation axis is JAMES's
  one-axis structural lead.
- **data pointer**: cell L1 carryover (C_rag-full) at path 0.419
  vs C_minus at 0.0
- **follow-up tag**: `mechanism-candidate` + `universal-law`
- **probe ideas**: Phase 2/3 confirms path axis is model-invariant
  (should be — it's a structural output, not a quality measure)
- **immediate impact on α-6**: publishable framing —
  *"JAMES's measurable structural contribution on MultiHop-RAG is
  path coverage +0.42 vs zero for the bare LLM. Quality axes are
  roughly LLM-equivalent at production tier."*

## Promotion provenance

- Auto-drafted by `scripts/qvt_promote_findings.py` on the entry dated 2026-06-01.
- This is a DRAFT memo. Review before adding a line under MEMORY.md.
- If the finding was already resolved by a PR (e.g. `→ RESOLVED (#N)`),
  consider whether the memo should be archived as feedback rather than
  carried as an open mechanism candidate.
