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Chapter 12 — Boundaries & Anomalies (Leap Seconds / Virtualization / GNSS Events)
One-line objective: Under challenging boundary conditions—leap seconds, virtualized clocks, and GNSS source anomalies—preserve the monotonicity of tau_mono and consistency of the published ts, quantify risk, and deliver an auditable governance loop.
I. Scope & Targets
- Covered
- Time scales & leap seconds: mappings among TAI/UTC/GPS/UT1, leap_event ∈ {+1,-1,0}, and UTC_smear policies.
- Virtualization & containers: vCPU preemption, TSC stability, guest↔host clock source switching, and monotonicity guarantees.
- GNSS anomalies: spoof/jam, ionospheric disturbances, 1PPS/ToD mismatch, GPS week rollover, multi-constellation resilience.
- Inputs
Real-time observables: offset/skew/J, 1PPS bias, PDOP, CN0, stall_ms (guest clock stalls), wn_rx (GNSS week count). - Outputs
- Policy & control: leap_apply or UTC_smear, holdover mode, source_fallback, adjustments to warp(t).
- Manifest: manifest.time.boundary.* (events, thresholds, actions, and signature).
II. Terms & Variables
- Time scales & leap seconds: TAI, UTC, GPS, UT1, leap(t), Δ_leap ∈ {+1 s,-1 s}, window W_smear, UTC_smear(t).
- Virtualization: TSC (invariant_tsc ∈ {0,1}), ts_guest, ts_host, stall_ms, kvmclock_offset, host_skew.
- GNSS: t_sat, t_rx, d_prop, d_iono, d_trop, PDOP, CN0, 1PPS, ToD, wn_rx, WN_full.
- Gauges & contracts: offset, skew, J, lat, tol_*, q_score, TraceID.
III. Axioms P512- **
- P512-1 (Scale separation): Internal tau_mono is immune to leap seconds; UTC/TAI/GPS apply only at the ts mapping layer.
- P512-2 (Once-only leap application): Any leap_event must be applied exactly once within the system—no double compensation, no cross-window accrual.
- P512-3 (Virtual monotonicity): Under any vCPU preemption or migration, tau_mono must remain non_decreasing; degrade to a single-source TSC or monotonic_raw when required.
- P512-4 (GNSS admission control): A GNSS source must pass integrity and environment gates before driving the servo baseline—isolate first, admit later.
- P512-5 (Multi-source voting): Fuse GNSS/PTP/NTP/OCXO via robust voting/weighted median; no single source may directly cause a phase step.
- P512-6 (Dual arrival forms): Any path delay estimate must publish both T_arr forms and record delta_form.
- P512-7 (Traceability): All boundary events are written to manifest.time.boundary.* with raw observations, actions, and residual uncertainty.
IV. Minimal Equations S512- **
- S512-1 (Scale mappings)
UTC(t) = TAI(t) - leap(t);GPS(t) = TAI(t) - Delta_tai_gps;UT1(t) = UTC(t) + Delta_UT1(t)。 - S512-2 (Leap-second smearing)
UTC_smear(t) = UTC(t) + ( Δ_leap ) * g( ( t - t0 ) / W_smear ),with g(x) ∈ [0,1], g(0)=0, g(1)=1, | d g / d x | ≤ k_smear。 - S512-3 (Virtualization stall detection)
stall_ms = max( 0 , ( ts_host - ts_guest ) - expected_progress );if stall_ms > stall_thr, trigger degradation。 - S512-4 (GNSS observation & bias)
t_rx = t_sat + d_prop + d_iono + d_trop + eps_hw;offset_gnss = ( t_1pps - ts_ref )。 - S512-5 (Week rollover repair)
WN_full = argmin_w | T_gps( wn_rx + w * WN_mod ) - T_ref |,WN_mod from GNSS spec。 - S512-6 (Holdover bound)
| offset_holdover(t) | ≤ | offset0 | + | y0 | * t + 0.5 * | dy/dt | * t^2 + J_wander(t)。 - S512-7 (Robust fusion)
offset_fused = median( { offset_src } );skew_fused = median( { skew_src } );down-weight abnormal sources via MAD。 - S512-8 (Jitter & monotonicity constraints)
J = sqrt( Var( Delta_ts ) );published streams satisfy non_decreasing(ts) and | d warp / dt - 1 | ≤ eps_warp。
V. Governance Flow M50-12 (Detect → Classify → Isolate → Correct → Reinstate → Audit)
- Detection
Continuously monitor offset/skew/J, 1PPS, PDOP/CN0, stall_ms, wn_rx. - Classification
A: leap-second event; B: virtualization stall/migration; C: GNSS (spoof/jam/ionosphere/rollover). - Isolation
Suspend phase steps; remove GNSS from servo (quarantine); in virtualization, switch to monotonic_raw and enter holdover. - Correction
- Leap seconds: apply leap_step or UTC_smear(t) per policy;
- Virtualization: limit frequency / pin CPUs / enable invariant_tsc or kvmclock corrections;
- GNSS: reselect constellations, enforce PDOP/CN0 gates, repair WN_full, re-calibrate antenna/cable delays; re-admit after holdover reconvergence.
- Reinstatement
Using median/MAD, taper isolated-source weight to zero, then probe up; resume voting once contracts pass. - Audit
Emit manifest.time.boundary.*: event, thresholds, actions, residual U, and signature.
VI. Contracts & Assertions
- C50-121 (Leap-second consistency): leap_event applied count = 1; for UTC_smear, | d UTC_smear / dt - 1 | ≤ eps_smear and completion within W_smear.
- C50-122 (Monotonicity): violations( non_decreasing(ts) ) = 0; warp obeys | d warp / dt - 1 | ≤ eps_warp.
- C50-123 (Virtualization bound): stall_ms_p99 ≤ bound_stall; invariant_tsc=1 or an equivalent guard is active.
- C50-124 (GNSS admission): PDOP ≤ pdop_max ∧ CN0 ≥ cn0_min ∧ spoof_score ≤ spoof_thr ∧ wnro_ok = true.
- C50-125 (1PPS alignment): | offset_1pps | ≤ tol_1pps; otherwise force holdover.
- C50-126 (Dual arrival forms): delta_form ≤ tol_Tarr sustained.
- C50-127 (Dimensional checks): check_dim( offset/skew/J ) = pass.
VII. Implementation Bindings I50-12*
- handle_leap_event(leap_table, policy, W_smear) -> plan (policy ∈ {step, smear_linear, smear_sine})
- apply_leap_smear(ts, plan) -> ts'
- virtual_clock_guard(env) -> {invariant_tsc, pinning, tick_hz}
- probe_tsc_stability(samples) -> report (tests for drift and stall_ms)
- detect_gnss_spoof(stream, rules) -> {spoof_score, flags}
- resolve_gps_week_rollover(wn_rx, ref) -> WN_full
- enter_holdover(clock, horizon) -> mode;switch_time_source(order) -> active_src
- fuse_multi_sources(offsets, skews, method) -> {offset_fused, skew_fused} (method = median_mad)
- emit_boundary_manifest(event, actions, U) -> manifest.time.boundary
- Invariants: unique(TraceID);leap_applied_once=true;ts' monotone;source_fallback preserves the offset_p99 contract.
VIII. Cross-References
- Clocks & references: Chapter 3 (OCXO/Rb/GNSS holdover and re-calibration).
- Timestamp chains & latency budget: Chapter 4 (warp(t) and path corrections).
- Synchronization protocols & servos: Chapter 5 (step/smear strategies and loop parameters).
- Offset/skew/jitter estimation: Chapter 6 (stall_ms and skew estimation).
- Phase/time noise & Allan family: Chapter 7 (holdover drift bounds).
- Buffering & time-base conversion: Chapter 8 (monotonicity and resampling).
- Arrival-time metrology & path consistency: Chapter 9 (dual forms & delta_form).
- Streaming operations & backpressure: Chapter 11 (backpressure coordination during anomalies).
IX. Quality SLIs & Risk Control
- SLIs
- leap_applied_flag, smear_window_active, smear_slope_max;
- stall_ms_p95/p99, guest_tsc_invariant, offset_1pps_p95;
- gnss_use_ratio, spoof_alerts_count, wnro_events, holdover_duration_s.
- Risk policies
- Priority: holdover > multi-source median > PTP > NTP > GNSS (quarantined).
- Gray re-admission: low-weight join → pass observability gates → increase weight.
- Injection drills: periodic leap-second simulation, VM pause injection, spoof/jam sandbox—verify C50-121…127.
Summary
*, the system maintains tau_mono monotonicity and ts consistency under extreme conditions, sustaining the two T_arr formulations and publication SLOs.I50-12*, and C50-12, M50-12, S512-, P512-. Via GNSS anomalies, and virtualization, leap seconds for three boundary classes—closed-loop remediation, and a detection gates, scale mappingsThis chapter sets outCopyright & License (CC BY 4.0)
Copyright: Unless otherwise noted, the copyright of “Energy Filament Theory” (text, charts, illustrations, symbols, and formulas) belongs to the author “Guanglin Tu”.
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Suggested attribution: Author: “Guanglin Tu”; Work: “Energy Filament Theory”; Source: energyfilament.org; License: CC BY 4.0.
First published: 2025-11-11|Current version:v5.1
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