%% SCRAP: archive/quality/audits/section-2-executive-summary
%% SOURCE: docs/working/archive/quality/audits/section-2-executive-summary.md
%% STATUS: HISTORICAL
%% FITS: none
%% EDITORIAL: lifted — prose rewritten to press voice

\section*{Section~2 Executive Summary: Physics Subsystem Safety (November 2025)}

Section~2 of the StarForth quality program delivered 64 lines of safety
hardening and documentation across four physics subsystem files, with zero
architectural changes and zero runtime regressions when all features are
enabled. Work completed on 2025-11-20:

\begin{itemize}
  \item \textbf{Clarifying comments (37 lines):} Feedback-loop annotations
        (\textsc{fl1}, \textsc{fl3}) added to \texttt{physics\_metadata.h}
        and \texttt{physics\_metadata.c}, documenting atomic operation
        rationale and Q48.16 decay calculation intent.
  \item \textbf{Safety fix (6 lines):} Explicit \texttt{NULL} check added to
        \texttt{transition\_metrics\_get\_probability\_q48()} in
        \texttt{physics\_pipelining\_metrics.c}; caller preconditions documented.
  \item \textbf{Compile-time guards (18 lines):} \texttt{physics\_metadata.c/.h}
        wrapped in \texttt{\#if ENABLE\_LOOP\_1\_HEAT\_TRACKING} with
        zero-overhead inline stubs for disabled builds.
  \item \textbf{DoE log fix (3 lines):} \texttt{LOG\_INFO} downgraded to
        \texttt{LOG\_DEBUG} in \texttt{src/vm.c} to prevent stderr pollution
        during \texttt{-{}-doe-experiment} mode.
\end{itemize}

All four modified files compiled with zero warnings. A pre-existing linker
error (unrelated to Section~2 scope) was noted but not addressed.
