arxiv.org/abs/2609.29636 Operator Packages, Proposer Strength, and Construction-Family Plateaus in Office-Scale Verified Search
Researchers ran a small FunSearch-style loop with a local 30B model on nine construction problems, testing three operator packages in a full factorial design. The combined operators closed more of the gap to the record, repulsion raised diversity, and a frontier model reached in tens of samples what the local model did not in hundreds; searches plateaued at 85-92% gap closure.
— via arXiv Software Engineering, Roberto I. Ono Filho