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Publication series 4 — Programme & Trust

The Findings We Kept That Hurt: Adverse Results in the Register

You can tell a validation programme is real by what it publishes against itself.

MetroVolt's register keeps its wounds: the δ-scan that refused to flatter deeper shaping, the robustness scan that named plasma current unforgiving, the breeding analysis that came back negative. They are deposited beside the favourable results, same format, same prominence.

The science

S77 tested the reviewer-suggested deeper-triangularity lever and reported the adverse trend: safety factor falls with |δ|, so the frozen point already sits at the favourable end. S79's excursion matrix found B-field shortfalls recoverable but a 10% plasma-current shortfall not recoverable by density trim — 'least forgiving parameter' is our phrase, in our deposit. §3.5 computed prompt ³He breeding at ratio ≥1 as not achievable, forcing the staged supply strategy. The shield ledger carries its conductor-fluence line ~8% above a degradation onset, flagged rather than smoothed.

Even the near-thermal baseline's confinement requirement — the design's hardest single number — was moved to the top of the published band (≈2.2) when the systems code said so.

Why it matters

Selection bias is the quiet killer of technical credibility. A register that demonstrably retains its negative results converts every positive result into stronger evidence — reviewers know nothing was curated out. In diligence, our adverse findings are load-bearing assets.

The numbers

Adverse δ-scanS77 — deeper shaping costs q95
Unforgiving parameterIp −10% unrecoverable (S79)
Breeding ≥ 1computed negative (§3.5)
Flagged marginconductor fluence ~8% above onset
Baseline H98 posture≈2.2 — top of band, stated
Straight answersThis paper is the gap statement. The other 39 are honest because keeping results like these is the programme's operating rule, not its exception.
Every figure in this paper traces to the openly deposited 81-simulation programme (S01–S81) behind the Kronos MetroVolt four-paper design series — data and code at DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21248916 (CC BY 4.0). Read the series, run the code, check us.
Kronos MetroVolt is a conceptual design study. Quantitative values are simulation-derived and carry the feasibility gates stated in the series; Tier-2 flagship-code confirmations are deposited as runnable decks pending HPC execution. This document is informational and is not an offer of securities. © 2026 Kronos Fusion Energy, Los Angeles.