explore_topic
Map the conceptual landscape around a topic ACROSS THE PAPER CORPUS. Searches papers and their chunks, not the layer-2 claim graph — for published CLAIMS on a topic use methodist_explore_topic. Instead of returning a ranked list of papers, returns N distinct conceptual clusters with representative chunks. Built on keyConcept LLM-extracted markers diversification. Use for "what approaches exist to X" queries — answers with thematic map rather than ranked list. Better than search when you want breadth over depth. Temporal bias note: for topics with dense recent literature (e.g. current LLM research), the default ordering favors recent papers because vector similarity finds them first; specify dateTo for historical exploration of mature topics, or dateFrom+dateTo to slice a specific era. Diversification cap (maxClustersPerPaper) limits how many clusters can have the same source paper as representative chunk — protects against single-paper dominance.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| dateTo | No | Filter: published on or before (ISO date) | |
| detail | No | standard | |
| run_id | No | Optional. The active methodist run_id (as returned by the methodist diagnose / get_current_dose door). Pass it whenever you call this tool while working inside a run, so the call is attributed to that run for the §8 usage crosscheck — attribution is run-anchored, so it stays correct even if your access token refreshes mid-run. Must be YOUR run: a run_id owned by a different principal, or a non-existent run_id, is rejected. | |
| concept | Yes | Topic or research question to explore (e.g. "in-context learning", "retrieval augmented generation") | |
| dateFrom | No | Filter: published on or after (ISO date) | |
| categories | No | arXiv category filter | |
| vectorModel | No | gemini | |
| clusterCount | No | Number of distinct conceptual approaches to return | |
| maxClustersPerPaper | No | Diversification cap: maximum clusters that may use the same source paper as representative chunk. Lower = more paper diversity across clusters; higher = allow dominant papers to be representative in more clusters. Default 2. |