Einstein Audit for Faster-Than-Light Hidden Sectors (FTL-only): A2 Strict Protocol Freeze and Provider-Return Gate

This version is a methods/tooling update for the FTL-only Einstein Audit project. It freezes the strict A2 workflow for replacing placeholder/demo observational inputs with real posterior-level pulsar timing array (PTA) and ringdown data. What’s new in v1.2.1 Strict A2 protocol freeze Defines the primary strict path from provider-return posterior mini-CSVs to the canonical observational radicand posterior. Formula: R = 1 - (1 - PCI)^2 - z^2 Valid draws use: x_max = sqrt(R) Provider-return and claim-lock gates Adds validation logic to prevent screening, toy, synthetic, replay-only, or summary-only files from being promoted into strict real-data claims. Downstream mathematics cannot upgrade upstream data provenance. Calibrated / cross-fit PCI primary route Promotes calibrated cross-fit classifier PCI as the preferred strict PTA consistency estimator. Keeps histogram overlap only as a numerical-resolution sensitivity / stress test. Ringdown harmonization requirement Requires event-level posterior samples for a harmonized scalar deviation parameter called epsilon. Requires a ringdown harmonization manifest before ringdown posteriors can enter the strict A2 path. Validity-gated phase reporting Invalid observational draws with R < 0 are reported separately. Invalid draws are not clipped into the practical phase. Runtime compatibility hotfix Adds compatibility for both new and older scikit-learn CalibratedClassifierCV APIs. Scope Scope is FTL-only. This release does not include higher-dimensional blast, big-bang spark, or unrelated theory content. Claim lock This is a reproducible methods/toolchain release. This release does not claim evidence for faster-than-light physics. This release does not include strict real-data A2 posterior constraints. Synthetic smoke tests are included only to verify that the strict protocol executes end-to-end. Current strict-data status The strict real-data A2 path remains locked until the following posterior-level mini-CSV inputs are available: pta_ipta.csv pta_epta.csv ringdown_EVENT1.csv ringdown_EVENT2.csv ringdown_harmonization_manifest.csv decision_log.yaml Preferred PTA format: log10_A_gw,gamma_gw-14.90,3.60-14.95,3.70 Ringdown format: epsilon0.02-0.01