29-EFT.WP.TBN.Measurement v1.0 | Foreword

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Foreword

One-line scope: This volume establishes a unified, engineering-grade metrology convention for Time-Base Backbone Networks (TBN)—from signal-domain phase/frequency and path-domain arrival time to network-layer measurement and publication—with dual-form arrival-time handling, dimension consistency, RefCond traceability, and manifest-style deliverables.

I. Purpose & Positioning

• Purpose: Build a computable, auditable, and replayable metrology baseline for carrier-grade TBN. Unify the signal domain (phase/frequency), the path domain (arrival time/dispersion/environment), the network domain (switching/queuing), and the instrument domain (loopback/calibration), and deliver everything in a manifestable form.
• Objects: phi(t) / y(t) (phase/frequency deviations and their spectra/statistics), T_arr (dual forms), S_phi / S_y / sigma_y, link/node delay and jitter, SNR/RBW/ENBW/quantization noise, RefCond, offset / skew / J.
• Deliverables: manifest.tbn.* (measurement evidence/conventions/thresholds/uncertainty), contract library C50-*, and implementation bindings I50-*.

II. Scope & Objects

• Inputs: Front-end acquisition (ADC/trigger/timebase), observation streams (I/Q/pulse/timestamps), path & environment (n_eff(f,x), meteorology/TEC), instruments & processing chain (loopback/two-way/peer-to-peer), synchronization links (PPS/Two-Way).
• Outputs: Estimates and spectra/statistics for phase/frequency/delay; dual-form T_arr^{form1/form2} and their difference delta_form; environmental/path/instrument corrections corr_env(x; RefCond); uncertainties u/U and release guardbands; the manifest.tbn.
• Boundaries: This volume does not define fundamental physical constants or first principles of metrology. Propagation modeling and correction details for RF/fiber/FSO reside in the companion PathCorrection/Packets/PathRedshift volumes.

III. Numbering & Conventions (Mandatory)

1. Unified numbering: Postulates P50x-*, Minimal Equations S50x-*, Metrology Flows M50-*, Implementation Bindings I50-*, Contracts C50-*.
2. Two arrival-time forms (cross-volume reusable):
   • Constant factored-out: T_arr = ( 1 / c_ref ) * ( ∫ n_eff d ell )
   • General form: T_arr = ( ∫ ( n_eff / c_ref ) d ell )
   • Publication records the two-form difference:
     delta_form = | ( 1 / c_ref ) * ( ∫ n_eff d ell ) - ( ∫ ( n_eff / c_ref ) d ell ) |, with the assertion delta_form ≤ tol_Tarr.
     (Path is taken along gamma(ell) with measure d ell.)
3. Time–frequency domain conventions: Transform relations and unit definitions for phase-noise S_phi(f), frequency-noise S_y(f), and the Allan family sigma_y(τ) are aligned; windows/bandwidths/measures are explicit.

IV. Methodology & Master Flow M50-1

• Ready: Freeze RefCond (source/version/hash/validity/coverage), align timebases tau_mono / ts; load path/instrument/network inventories.
• Acquire & Estimate: Obtain phi/y, S_phi/S_y/sigma_y, and T_arr^{form1/form2}; derive SNR/RBW/ENBW; record sampling and trigger coherence.
• Correct & Compose: Apply corr_env(x; RefCond) (environment/path/instrument) and compose link/node delay models into T_arr* and time–frequency metrics.
• Validate & Uncertainty: check_dim, evaluate dual-form difference delta_form, compare analytic vs observed residuals; propagate u/U (GUM/MC), define release thresholds and guardbands.
• Publish: Produce manifest.tbn (parameters/evidence/thresholds/uncertainty), sign and store; update dashboards and link with strategy cards.

V. Reader Paths & Role Mapping

• Hardware/Front-end: Ch. 3 (ADC/trigger/timebase) → Ch. 4 (estimators) → Ch. 5 (noise spectra & statistics).
• Links/Paths: Ch. 6 (delay/jitter/dual forms) → Ch. 7 (environmental corrections) → cross-volumes PathCorrection/Packets/PathRedshift.
• Instruments/Calibration: Ch. 8 (loopback/two-way/peer) → Ch. 10 (analytics vs observation vs anchors).
• Compliance/Operations: Ch. 11 (uncertainty) → Ch. 12 (contracts) → Ch. 13 (runtime) → Ch. 14 (security) → Ch. 15 (use cases).

VI. Data, Metrology & Compliance

• Data specification: Every measurement field carries unit/dim/hash and an effective interval; log↔linear conversions are persisted in scale.note; analysis window W and the measure are explicit.
• Metrology conventions: Estimator/window/bandwidth bias/variance must be benchmarked against the CRLB; dual-form arrival time, environmental corrections, and path/network layers remain consistent.
• Compliance modules: Assertions on dual-form T_arr; SNR/window-length/freshness & coverage; dashboard freshness and signature-chain integrity (C50-*).

VII. Cross-References (Hard Dependencies)

• Time base & synchronization: See the companion Energy Filaments TimeBase/Sync volumes (tau_mono/ts/offset/skew/J).
• Path & propagation: See PathCorrection/Packets/PathRedshift (dual forms, dispersion, ray models, FSO).
• Instruments & calibration: See the Instrument volume; for cleaning & publication, see Methods.Cleaning.

VIII. Deliverables & Acceptance

• Artifacts: I50-* interface implementations (acquisition/estimation/correction/composition/publication), C50-* contract strategy cards, manifest.tbn exemplars and dashboard fields.
• SLO/SLI: delta_form_p99, sigma_y(τ) quantiles, S_phi@f thresholds, ΔT_obs_p95, age(source), coverage, hit/stale_ratio.
• Audit: Versions/dependencies/random seeds/source hashes; dual-environment re-compute difference ≤ ε_dual; signature chain and replay scripts available.

IX. Risks & Rollback

• Unstable acquisition chain: Rebuild triggers and references; reduce bandwidth and apply windowing.
• Excess dual-form difference: Re-inspect path/environment/instrument corrections; unify on form2 and widen guardbands.
• Large observation residuals: Raise SNR/extend windows/swap estimators.
• Expired sources/insufficient coverage: Degrade or withhold publication and fire strategy cards.

X. Structural Guide

• Ch. 1: Domain definitions & scope.
• Ch. 2–5: Mathematics & estimator baselines.
• Ch. 6–7: Delay/corrections with path binding.
• Ch. 8–10: Instrument metrology & anchor alignment.
• Ch. 11–12: Uncertainty & contract publication.
• Ch. 13–15: Operations & security; use cases & manifests.

The foreword above anchors execution and compliance for this volume. All subsequent chapters strictly maintain the numbering scheme, dual-form handling, and dimension checks laid out here; all publications are governed by manifest.tbn.*.