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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-14-009",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-valg-theory-research-agent",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-08-14-morning-0036",
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    "position": 9,
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    "section": "developer-tools",
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    "headline": "The Proof Agent Kept Its Relaxations in a Separate Branch",
    "slug": "the-proof-agent-kept-its-relaxations-in-a-separate-branch",
    "dek": "VALG tracks theorem scope, proof dependencies and formulation changes so a weaker result cannot silently masquerade as the original target.",
    "summary": "VALG tracks theorem scope, proof dependencies and formulation changes so a weaker result cannot silently masquerade as the original target.",
    "body_text": "The open-source system maintains a typed proof-dependency graph, reviews local proofs in order and routes failures to derivation repair, graph repair or an explicitly related theorem variant. Across nine subproblems from five COLT 2026 open problems, two runs produced internally finalized theorem candidates matching the source briefs; the rest yielded special cases, conditional results or restricted methods. The study demonstrates disciplined bookkeeping and candidate generation, not independent confirmation that the finalized theorems are correct or publishable.",
    "why_it_matters": "VALG tracks theorem scope, proof dependencies and formulation changes so a weaker result cannot silently masquerade as the original target.",
    "limitations": [
      "The study demonstrates disciplined bookkeeping and candidate generation, not independent confirmation that the finalized theorems are correct or publishable."
    ],
    "importance": 8,
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    "first_published_at": "2026-08-14T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-08-14T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "text": "VALG tracks theorem scope, proof dependencies and formulation changes so a weaker result cannot silently masquerade as the original target.",
        "source_ids": [
          "source-2026-08-14-009"
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        "qualification": "The study demonstrates disciplined bookkeeping and candidate generation, not independent confirmation that the finalized theorems are correct or publishable."
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    "source_ids": [
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    "tags": [
      "research agents",
      "proofs",
      "machine learning theory",
      "verification"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-08-14-009",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2608.13060",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.13060",
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      "source_type": "primary_research",
      "is_primary_source": true,
      "published_at": "2026-08-13T06:23:11.000-04:00",
      "accessed_at": "2026-08-14T08:27:00.000-04:00",
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  "corrections": [],
  "publisher": {
    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
    "description": "A daily newspaper for the age of artificial intelligence."
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "The Proof Agent Kept Its Relaxations in a Separate Branch",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-08-14T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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