Documentation

Protocol security parameter

In longest-chain protocols, we interpret this as the number of rollbacks we support.

i.e., k == 1: we can roll back at most one block k == 2: we can roll back at most two blocks, etc

NOTE: This talks about the number of blocks we can roll back, not the number of slots.

In weightiest-chain protocols (such as Ouroboros Peras), we interpret this as the maximum amount of weight we can roll back. Here, the total weight of a chain (fragment) is defined to be its length plus the sum of all weight boosts given to some of its blocks on the chain (fragment).

i.e. k == 30: we can roll back at most 30 unweighted blocks, or two blocks each having additional weight 14. In the latter case, the chain fragment has total weight 2 + 2 * 14 = 30.

The maximum amount of weight we can roll back.