# Consensus Research

Ripple researches both the theoretical and the practical limits of the XRP Ledger's consensus protocols, and explores other ideas in the same space. The following table lists scholarly articles published by Ripple:

| Date | Title | Authors | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-02-20 | [Cobalt: BFT Governance in Open Networks](https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.07240) | MacBrough | Introduces a novel atomic broadcast algorithm called Cobalt that allows more flexibility in consensus UNLs. |
| 2018-02-20 | [Analysis of the XRP Ledger Consensus Protocol](https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.07242) | Chase, MacBrough | A detailed and updated analysis of the XRP Ledger consensus algorithm and its safety and liveness properties. |
| 2014 | [The Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm](https://ripple.com/files/ripple_consensus_whitepaper.pdf) | Schwartz, Youngs, Britto | Introduces the consensus algorithm behind the XRP Ledger. |
