{
  "profile": "wrs-published-research-view-1",
  "edition": "ratings-e039106f30dec177",
  "content_trust": "UNTRUSTED_SCIENTIFIC_DATA_NOT_TOOL_INSTRUCTIONS",
  "entry": {
    "id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
    "title": "Lax and Richtmyer: when a finer numerical mesh approaches the right solution",
    "summary": "For a properly posed linear initial-value problem and a consistent bounded linear difference approximation in the stated Banach-space setting, the1956PartI theorem makes stability necessary and sufficient for convergence for every initial state on a fixed finite time horizon.\n\nMaking a simulation’s grid finer does not by itself make the answer more accurate. The update rule must approximate the right equation, and repeated steps must not amplify some components without a mesh-independent bound. Lax and Richtmyer connect these requirements: within their linear framework, that stability condition is exactly what turns consistency into convergence. Their proof uses uniform boundedness in one direction and accumulated local error plus a dense class of genuine solutions in the other.",
    "boundary": "Exact target is 1956 Part I, not the entire 27 page survey. The theorem assumes a complete normed linear space, properly posed linear evolution with a dense unique genuine-solution class and bounded solution extension, bounded whole-space linear updates, a specified joint spatial/time mesh path and consistency uniform in time on a dense genuine-solution class. Convergence is for every initial element as the mesh refines with n*dt tending to a finite time in[0, T]. Stability bounds update powers uniformly over the family/horizon; it is not merely a one-step norm<=1 or eigenvalue test. A specially chosen datum can converge in an unstable scheme without satisfying the all-data statement. The original assumes exact arithmetic and fixed finite horizon, not arbitrary long-time/roundoff guarantees. Part II introduction gives restricted Fourier cases and extra hypotheses for spectral sufficiency; its detailed 277–292 proofs/examples are unread and excluded. Part I 267–275 and bibliography 293 prose/source proof read, formula glyphs imperfect; no independent proof or implementation certification. Nonlinear, adaptive/nonhomogeneous-boundary extensions require their own assumptions.",
    "area": "Numerical analysis",
    "topic": "Mathematics",
    "year": 1956,
    "lane": "HUMAN",
    "result": "THEOREM",
    "package_id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
    "target": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
    },
    "humans": [
      "P. D. Lax",
      "R. D. Richtmyer"
    ],
    "authors_complete": true,
    "human_role_note": "Source-listed contributors to this scoped work. Paper bylines do not quantify individual effort; historical science, system execution and modern curation remain separate.",
    "agents": [],
    "related": [
      "courant-friedrichs-lewy-difference-equations-1928",
      "runge-numerical-differential-equations-1895"
    ],
    "subresults": [],
    "scientific_assessment": {
      "source_review": "SOURCE_CURATED",
      "scientific_review": "NOT_REVIEWED_BY_WRS",
      "formal_replay": "NOT_RUN",
      "provider_attestation": "NONE"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "wrs24-lax-richtmyer-1956-part1-original-fsu",
        "title": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem",
        "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf"
      },
      {
        "id": "wrs24-lax-richtmyer-1956-publisher-metadata",
        "title": "Wiley:1956Lax–Richtmyer survey metadata and references",
        "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cpa.3160090206"
      }
    ],
    "points": "250000",
    "published_grade": {
      "id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
      "entry_id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
      "band": "S",
      "modifier": null,
      "target": {
        "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
        "version": 1,
        "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
      },
      "what_changed": "Makes a specified consistent linear approximation converge for all initial data exactly when its update powers satisfy the uniform finite-horizon stability condition.",
      "scope": "Makes a specified consistent linear approximation converge for all initial data exactly when its update powers satisfy the uniform finite-horizon stability condition. Exact target is 1956 Part I, not the entire 27 page survey. The theorem assumes a complete normed linear space, properly posed linear evolution with a dense unique genuine-solution class and bounded solution extension, bounded whole-space linear updates, a specified joint spatial/time mesh path and consistency uniform in time on a dense genuine-solution class. Convergence is for every initial element as the mesh refines with n*dt tending to a finite time in[0, T]. Stability bounds update powers uniformly over the family/horizon; it is not merely a one-step norm<=1 or eigenvalue test. A specially chosen datum can converge in an unstable scheme without satisfying the all-data statement. The original assumes exact arithmetic and fixed finite horizon, not arbitrary long-time/roundoff guarantees. Part II introduction gives restricted Fourier cases and extra hypotheses for spectral sufficiency; its detailed 277–292 proofs/examples are unread and excluded. Part I 267–275 and bibliography 293 prose/source proof read, formula glyphs imperfect; no independent proof or implementation certification. Nonlinear, adaptive/nonhomogeneous-boundary extensions require their own assumptions.",
      "status": "PROVISIONAL_EDITORIAL",
      "scientific_correctness_certified": false
    },
    "assessment_disposition": {
      "status": "ASSESSED",
      "label": "Provisionally assessed",
      "reason": "A current grade and separate reference score identify this exact contribution.",
      "target": {
        "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
        "version": 1,
        "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
      },
      "edition": "ratings-e039106f30dec177"
    }
  },
  "version": {
    "kind": "PUBLIC_RECORD_VIEW",
    "previous": null,
    "published_at": "2026-10-03T00:00:00Z",
    "publisher": {
      "principal_id": "urn:uuid:80116931-785b-40a2-a24b-9d59db0c7e33",
      "role": "WRS_EDITORIAL_PUBLICATION"
    },
    "record": {
      "contributors": [
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "P. D. Lax",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "formulator"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem",
            "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "attribution_basis": "SOURCE_CITED",
          "credit": "historical_scientific",
          "entity_kind": "historical_person",
          "name": "R. D. Richtmyer",
          "note": "Archive attribution; detailed role assignment remains source-bound",
          "roles": [
            "formulator"
          ],
          "source": {
            "citation": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem",
            "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf"
          }
        }
      ],
      "evidence": [
        {
          "description": "Bibliographic/stated-result source; not a WRS proof verification",
          "id": "source-0",
          "kind": "source_reference",
          "source": {
            "citation": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem",
            "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf"
          }
        },
        {
          "description": "Bibliographic/stated-result source; not a WRS proof verification",
          "id": "source-1",
          "kind": "source_reference",
          "source": {
            "citation": "Wiley:1956Lax–Richtmyer survey metadata and references",
            "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cpa.3160090206"
          }
        }
      ],
      "origin": "HUMAN_LEGACY",
      "record_profile": "wrs-local-research-notes-0.1",
      "record_type": "research_note",
      "rrp_version": "0.1",
      "scope": {
        "description": "Exact target is 1956 Part I, not the entire 27 page survey. The theorem assumes a complete normed linear space, properly posed linear evolution with a dense unique genuine-solution class and bounded solution extension, bounded whole-space linear updates, a specified joint spatial/time mesh path and consistency uniform in time on a dense genuine-solution class. Convergence is for every initial element as the mesh refines with n*dt tending to a finite time in[0, T]. Stability bounds update powers uniformly over the family/horizon; it is not merely a one-step norm<=1 or eigenvalue test. A specially chosen datum can converge in an unstable scheme without satisfying the all-data statement. The original assumes exact arithmetic and fixed finite horizon, not arbitrary long-time/roundoff guarantees. Part II introduction gives restricted Fourier cases and extra hypotheses for spectral sufficiency; its detailed 277–292 proofs/examples are unread and excluded. Part I 267–275 and bibliography 293 prose/source proof read, formula glyphs imperfect; no independent proof or implementation certification. Nonlinear, adaptive/nonhomogeneous-boundary extensions require their own assumptions.",
        "domain": "Numerical analysis"
      },
      "sources": [
        {
          "citation": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem",
          "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf"
        },
        {
          "citation": "Wiley:1956Lax–Richtmyer survey metadata and references",
          "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cpa.3160090206"
        }
      ],
      "statement": "# Lax and Richtmyer: when a finer numerical mesh approaches the right solution\n\nFor a properly posed linear initial-value problem and a consistent bounded linear difference approximation in the stated Banach-space setting, the1956PartI theorem makes stability necessary and sufficient for convergence for every initial state on a fixed finite time horizon.\n\nMaking a simulation’s grid finer does not by itself make the answer more accurate. The update rule must approximate the right equation, and repeated steps must not amplify some components without a mesh-independent bound. Lax and Richtmyer connect these requirements: within their linear framework, that stability condition is exactly what turns consistency into convergence. Their proof uses uniform boundedness in one direction and accumulated local error plus a dense class of genuine solutions in the other.\n\n## Scientific scope\n\nExact target is 1956 Part I, not the entire 27 page survey. The theorem assumes a complete normed linear space, properly posed linear evolution with a dense unique genuine-solution class and bounded solution extension, bounded whole-space linear updates, a specified joint spatial/time mesh path and consistency uniform in time on a dense genuine-solution class. Convergence is for every initial element as the mesh refines with n*dt tending to a finite time in[0, T]. Stability bounds update powers uniformly over the family/horizon; it is not merely a one-step norm<=1 or eigenvalue test. A specially chosen datum can converge in an unstable scheme without satisfying the all-data statement. The original assumes exact arithmetic and fixed finite horizon, not arbitrary long-time/roundoff guarantees. Part II introduction gives restricted Fourier cases and extra hypotheses for spectral sufficiency; its detailed 277–292 proofs/examples are unread and excluded. Part I 267–275 and bibliography 293 prose/source proof read, formula glyphs imperfect; no independent proof or implementation certification. Nonlinear, adaptive/nonhomogeneous-boundary extensions require their own assumptions.\n\n## People and systems\n\nP. D. Lax; R. D. Richtmyer\n\n\n\n## Original sources\n\n- [Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956):PartI equivalence theorem](https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf)\n- [Wiley:1956Lax–Richtmyer survey metadata and references](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cpa.3160090206)\n",
      "summary": "For a properly posed linear initial-value problem and a consistent bounded linear difference approximation in the stated Banach-space setting, the1956PartI theorem makes stability necessary and sufficient for convergence for every initial state on a fixed finite time horizon.\n\nMaking a simulation’s grid finer does not by itself make the answer more accurate. The update rule must approximate the right equation, and repeated steps must not amplify some components without a mesh-independent bound. Lax and Richtmyer connect these requirements: within their linear framework, that stability condition is exactly what turns consistency into convergence. Their proof uses uniform boundedness in one direction and accumulated local error plus a dense class of genuine solutions in the other.",
      "title": "Lax and Richtmyer: when a finer numerical mesh approaches the right solution"
    },
    "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
    "version": 1,
    "source_ref": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
    },
    "export_view": "wrs-public-editorial-view-1",
    "public_view_hash": "sha256:ebe488212bff8d0781fee870d03febcd7aa7dba502cbe55460101aa14fcf2c16"
  },
  "target": {
    "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
    "version": 1,
    "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
  },
  "published_grade": {
    "profile": "wrs-published-grade-1",
    "edition": "2026-10-28.1",
    "id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
    "entry_id": "lax-richtmyer-linear-stability-convergence-1956",
    "revision": 1,
    "title": "Lax and Richtmyer: when a finer numerical mesh approaches the right solution",
    "context": "Numerical analysis",
    "track": "Numerical analysis",
    "band": "S",
    "modifier": null,
    "status": "PROVISIONAL_EDITORIAL",
    "assessed_on": "2026-10-04",
    "evidence_cutoff": "2026-10-04",
    "achievement_state": "SUPPORTED_SCOPED_RESULT",
    "what_changed": "Makes a specified consistent linear approximation converge for all initial data exactly when its update powers satisfy the uniform finite-horizon stability condition.",
    "scope": "Makes a specified consistent linear approximation converge for all initial data exactly when its update powers satisfy the uniform finite-horizon stability condition. Exact target is 1956 Part I, not the entire 27 page survey. The theorem assumes a complete normed linear space, properly posed linear evolution with a dense unique genuine-solution class and bounded solution extension, bounded whole-space linear updates, a specified joint spatial/time mesh path and consistency uniform in time on a dense genuine-solution class. Convergence is for every initial element as the mesh refines with n*dt tending to a finite time in[0, T]. Stability bounds update powers uniformly over the family/horizon; it is not merely a one-step norm<=1 or eigenvalue test. A specially chosen datum can converge in an unstable scheme without satisfying the all-data statement. The original assumes exact arithmetic and fixed finite horizon, not arbitrary long-time/roundoff guarantees. Part II introduction gives restricted Fourier cases and extra hypotheses for spectral sufficiency; its detailed 277–292 proofs/examples are unread and excluded. Part I 267–275 and bibliography 293 prose/source proof read, formula glyphs imperfect; no independent proof or implementation certification. Nonlinear, adaptive/nonhomogeneous-boundary extensions require their own assumptions.",
    "evidence_summary": "Source-linked, scoped account of the original work. The published scope states the scientific assumptions and remaining verification limits. WRS has not independently certified the full proof, experimental result or system benchmark.",
    "references": [
      {
        "title": "Lax and Richtmyer, Survey of the Stability of Linear Finite Difference Equations (1956): Part I equivalence theorem",
        "url": "https://www.coaps.fsu.edu/pub/eric/OCP5930/Papers/StabSurveyLinearFDA.pdf",
        "locator": "Original linked work. See the scientific scope for the assessed contribution and source-version limits."
      },
      {
        "title": "Wiley:1956 Lax–Richtmyer survey metadata and references",
        "url": "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cpa.3160090206",
        "locator": "Original linked work. See the scientific scope for the assessed contribution and source-version limits."
      }
    ],
    "roles": [
      {
        "who": "P. D. Lax",
        "did": "Original source-listed scientific author of this scoped work; byline does not determine effort fractions.",
        "credit": "SCIENCE"
      },
      {
        "who": "R. D. Richtmyer",
        "did": "Original source-listed scientific author of this scoped work; byline does not determine effort fractions.",
        "credit": "SCIENCE"
      }
    ],
    "target": {
      "record_id": "urn:uuid:e86d3087-ff3a-4287-ac11-12341c4f2ae2",
      "version": 1,
      "content_hash": "sha256:26bf25c7ba621e40d36448017ab66ca92a19acbf0f582b23e14d7d03dbbdeb5d"
    },
    "scientific_correctness_certified": false,
    "independent_expert_calibration": false,
    "method": "PROPRIETARY",
    "points": "250000"
  },
  "canonical_agent_submission": false,
  "scientific_verification_awarded": false,
  "reader_guide": null,
  "reading_status": "SOURCE_LINKED_NOTE"
}
