Glossary
One definition per term, shared across the research topics. Each entry links to the hubs where the concept does real work, so the vocabulary stays consistent from one domain to the next.
60 terms · 15 topics
- Algebraic loop
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A direct feed-through cycle between coupled components that the orchestration must resolve.
- Analogue-to-spike encoding
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Turning a continuous signal into events, e.g. by delta modulation — the kernel the studio measures.
- AND-gate multiplication
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Two independent stochastic streams multiplied by a single logic gate.
- Binding
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A reversible operation that combines two symbols into a new, dissimilar one.
Hyperdimensional computing and vector symbolic architectures
- Bit-exact parity
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Two implementations producing identical bits on the same inputs — the property the databank checks.
- Bitstream encoding
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A number represented as the probability that a bit in a random stream is one.
- Bounded-model claim
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A result validated against synthetic or analytic references, valid only within that stated scope.
- Canonicalisation (JCS)
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Fixing the exact bytes a claim is signed over, so the signature input is unambiguous.
- Co-simulation
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Coupling separate simulators that exchange values at synchronisation points.
- Control pulse
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The time-dependent field that drives the system; the variable being optimised.
- Critical coupling K_c
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The coupling strength at which a synchronised cluster first forms; below it the population stays incoherent.
- Deterministic seed
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A fixed PRNG seed that makes a stochastic computation reproducible bit-for-bit.
- Deterministic timing
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Fixed-latency logic that makes sub-microsecond, repeatable triggers possible.
- Disruption
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A rapid, damaging loss of plasma confinement; the event predictors are built to anticipate.
- EDMD
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Extended Dynamic Mode Decomposition — a data-driven finite approximation of the operator.
- Event-driven computation
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Hardware that acts only when a spike arrives, trading dense throughput for energy.
- Event-driven hardware
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Neuromorphic substrates that compute only when a spike occurs, trading dense throughput for energy efficiency.
- Fail-closed verification
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A build or check that aborts on any mismatch rather than degrading silently.
- Fault tolerance
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A single bit-flip shifts the value by one stream position, not by a high-order bit.
- Fidelity
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How closely the achieved state or operation matches the target; the objective being maximised.
- Field-reversed configuration
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A compact toroid with closed field lines and no central column.
- FMI
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Functional Mock-up Interface — the open standard for exposing and stepping simulation components.
- FPGA synthesis
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Mapping a network to reconfigurable logic — custom hardware without fabrication.
- GPFA
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Gaussian-Process Factor Analysis — smooth single-trial latent trajectories from a GP prior.
- Grad–Shafranov equation
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The nonlinear force-balance equation a tokamak equilibrium must satisfy.
- GRAPE
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Gradient Ascent Pulse Engineering — the standard gradient method for pulse design.
- Holographic representation
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Information spread across all dimensions, so partial corruption degrades gracefully.
Hyperdimensional computing and vector symbolic architectures
- Hybrid signature
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An Ed25519 signature paired with a post-quantum ML-DSA signature over the same claim.
- IEEE 754
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The floating-point arithmetic standard a conforming backend must honour.
- Intermediate representation
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A substrate-independent description of a spiking network that multiple back-ends compile.
- Inverse problem
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Inferring the internal plasma state from external measurements, constrained by physics.
- Koopman MPC
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Model-predictive control using a Koopman linear predictor, making nonlinear control a convex problem.
- Koopman operator
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The linear operator that advances observables of a nonlinear system in time.
- Latent trajectory
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The inferred low-dimensional time course underlying the observed spikes.
- Liner compression
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Driving an implosion with a pulsed-power-accelerated conducting shell.
- Low-dimensional manifold
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The reduced surface on which high-dimensional population activity actually lies.
- Magnetic equilibrium
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The balance of magnetic and plasma pressure that holds the plasma in shape; the thing control maintains.
- Magneto-inertial regime
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Compressing a magnetised plasma on a pulsed timescale, between magnetic and inertial confinement.
- Mean-field limit
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The large-N approximation in which every oscillator feels the population only through the order parameter.
- Merkle transparency log
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An append-only log with inclusion and consistency proofs, following Certificate Transparency.
- Nanosecond triggering
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Firing diagnostics and drivers on the timescale the pulsed implosion demands.
- Natural frequency spread
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The distribution of individual frequencies; its width sets how strong the coupling must be to synchronise.
- Near-orthogonality
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In thousands of dimensions almost all random vectors are dissimilar, giving each symbol its own direction.
Hyperdimensional computing and vector symbolic architectures
- Neuro-symbolic pairing
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A learned component constrained by an analysable symbolic model that bounds its behaviour.
- Non-associativity
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Floating-point addition depends on order; reordering changes the last bits.
- Observable
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A function of the state; the Koopman operator acts on these rather than on the state itself.
- Order parameter r
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The magnitude of the population's mean phase vector, from 0 (incoherent) to 1 (fully phase-locked).
- PCA
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Principal component analysis — variance-maximising linear projection via the covariance eigenvectors.
- Place / transition / token
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The three primitives of a Petri net; markings of tokens are the system's states.
- Poloidal flux
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The magnetic flux function whose contours are the nested flux surfaces of the equilibrium.
- Progressive precision
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Accuracy that improves as the stream lengthens; error falls with the square root of length.
- Reachability
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The set of markings a net can enter; the basis of its safety and liveness analysis.
- Real-time control
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Actuation on the plasma's own millisecond timescale, from measurements to coil currents.
- Safety envelope
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The operating window within which the device is safe; a control claim is only valid inside it.
- Spike train
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A sequence of discrete events in time; the carrier of information in a spiking network.
- Stochastic firing rate
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A rate attached to a transition, making the net a continuous-time Markov process.
- Superposition
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Adding vectors to represent a set while preserving similarity to its members.
Hyperdimensional computing and vector symbolic architectures
- Surrogate gradient
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A smooth approximation to the spike's derivative, used only on the backward pass to permit gradient training.
- Synchronisation point
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The agreed instant at which coupled simulators exchange values.
- Target unitary
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The operation the control is designed to realise, e.g. a quantum logic gate.