Structured literature search + synthesis with citation extraction, thematic clustering, and gap identification. Use when user says "find papers on X", "do a lit review", "what's the literature on...", "summarize what we know about...", "where's the gap in this field", "review recent work on Y". Produces a written review with BibTeX-ready citations. Uses WebSearch/WebFetch for recent work.
Conduct a structured literature search and synthesis on the given topic.
Input: $ARGUMENTS — a topic, paper title, research question, or phenomenon to investigate.
Parse the topic from $ARGUMENTS. If a specific paper is named, use it as the anchor.
Search for related work using available tools:
master_supporting_docs/supporting_papers/ for uploaded papersWebSearch to find recent publications (if available)WebFetch to access working paper repositories (if available).bib file for papers already in the projectOrganize findings into these categories:
Identify gaps and opportunities:
Extract citations in BibTeX format for all papers discussed.
Save the report to quality_reports/lit_review_[sanitized_topic].md
# Literature Review: [Topic]
**Date:** [YYYY-MM-DD]
**Query:** [Original query from user]
## Summary
[2-3 paragraph overview of the state of the literature]
## Key Papers
### [Author (Year)] — [Short Title]
- **Main contribution:** [1-2 sentences]
- **Method:** [Identification strategy / data]
- **Key finding:** [Result with effect size if available]
- **Relevance:** [Why it matters for our research]
[Repeat for 5-15 papers, ordered by relevance]
## Thematic Organization
### Theoretical Contributions
[Grouped discussion]
### Empirical Findings
[Grouped discussion with comparison across studies]
### Methodological Innovations
[Methods relevant to the topic]
## Gaps and Opportunities
1. [Gap 1 — what's missing and why it matters]
2. [Gap 2]
3. [Gap 3]
## Suggested Next Steps
- [Concrete actions: papers to read, data to obtain, methods to consider]
## BibTeX Entries
```bibtex
@article{...}
---
## Post-Flight Verification (mandatory, CoVe)
Before returning the draft literature review to the user, run the Post-Flight Verification protocol from [`.claude/rules/post-flight-verification.md`](../../rules/post-flight-verification.md). Literature reviews are **very high** hallucination risk because WebSearch can return plausible-sounding fabricated citations. CoVe catches this architecturally.
### Steps
1. **Extract claims** from the draft. Each cited paper, each paraphrased finding ("Smith 2019 shows X"), each negative-literature assertion ("no prior work studies Y") is a claim.
2. **Generate verification questions** per claim. Specific ones: "Does Smith (2019, *JEL*) Section 3 actually report the finding that X implies Y? Is the venue correct?"
3. **Spawn `claim-verifier`** via `Task` with `subagent_type=claim-verifier` and `context=fork`. Pass: the claims table, the verification questions, the source-material pointers (paper URLs, DOIs, `master_supporting_docs/` paths). **Do NOT pass the draft text itself** — the fresh-context independence is what makes CoVe work.
4. **Reconcile:** if the verifier reports PASS, attach a green Post-Flight block to the output. If PARTIAL, mark the unverifiable claims with uncertainty flags in the BibTeX block. If FAIL, **remove or rewrite the contradicted citations** using the verifier's evidence before returning.
### Skip conditions
- `--no-verify` flag — user opts out for speed.
- User hands you ≤3 papers they already have read and confirmed; CoVe is overhead for content they've personally verified.
### Output contract
Append a Post-Flight block to the report (collapsed by default). See rule doc for the format.
---
## Important
- **Be honest about uncertainty.** If you cannot verify a citation, say so.
- **Prioritize recent work** (last 5-10 years) unless seminal papers are older.
- **Note working papers vs published papers** — working papers may change.
- **Do NOT fabricate citations.** If you're unsure about a paper's details, flag it for the user to verify. Post-Flight Verification catches most fabrications automatically; this rule is the backup.