Add smart figure placement rules for multi-column LaTeX templates

- Visualizer prompt: guide for figure vs figure* selection based on
  content complexity (concept diagrams → figure*, simple charts → figure)
- Writer prompt: instruction to match \includegraphics width to environment
- Plot style guide: figure placement table with figsize mappings
- Rules are content-aware, not hardcoded — agent decides based on figure
  type, information density, and number of panels

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: JihaoXin

ark/execution.py

@@ -880,6 +880,7 @@ def _run_writing_phase(self, action_plan: dict, prior_context: str = ""):
 1. Ensure LaTeX syntax is correct after each modification
 2. Keep the paper's core contributions unchanged
 3. Reference the high-quality paper style in paper_example/ directory
+4. For multi-column templates: use `\\begin{{figure*}}` (full width) for complex figures, multi-panel plots, and architecture diagrams. Use `\\begin{{figure}}` (single column) only for simple single charts. Match `\\includegraphics[width=]` to the environment (\\textwidth vs \\columnwidth).
 
 ## Reference Files
 - auto_research/state/latest_review.md - Review report

ark/templates/agents/visualizer.prompt

@@ -82,6 +82,31 @@ Flag these issues IMMEDIATELY if found:
    - Re-run the script to generate new figures
 5. **Verify**: Ensure the modified files have correct syntax
 
+## Figure Placement in LaTeX (for multi-column templates)
+
+For templates with 2+ columns, each figure must use the correct LaTeX environment:
+- `\begin{figure}` (single-column) vs `\begin{figure*}` (span all columns)
+
+Determine placement by the figure's content and information density:
+
+**Use `figure*` (full width) when:**
+- The figure is a system overview, architecture, or pipeline diagram
+- The figure has many components that need horizontal space to be readable
+- The figure contains multi-panel subplots (e.g., (a) and (b) side by side)
+- The figure would have illegibly small text if squeezed into one column
+
+**Use `figure` (single column) when:**
+- The figure is a simple bar chart, line chart, or scatter plot with few data points
+- The figure has minimal text labels that remain readable at column width
+- The figure naturally fits a portrait or square aspect ratio
+
+When fixing figures, also verify:
+- `figure*` figures use `figsize=(textwidth_in, ...)` not `columnwidth_in`
+- `figure` figures use `figsize=(columnwidth_in, ...)`
+- The LaTeX `\includegraphics[width=...]` matches the environment
+
+If you find a complex figure squeezed into `\begin{figure}` that should be `\begin{figure*}`, change the LaTeX environment AND regenerate the figure at full width.
+
 ## Important Rules
 
 1. You must actually modify Python scripts and run them (do not just output suggestions)

ark/templates/style_guides/academic_plot_style.md

@@ -215,6 +215,24 @@ ax2.set_yticklabels([])  # remove duplicate y labels
 
 ---
 
+## Figure Placement in Multi-Column LaTeX Templates
+
+Choose the correct LaTeX environment based on figure complexity:
+
+| Figure Type | Environment | Width | When |
+|-------------|------------|-------|------|
+| Simple single chart | `\begin{figure}` | `\columnwidth` | One bar/line/scatter plot, few labels |
+| Complex/dense chart | `\begin{figure*}` | `\textwidth` | Many bars, dense annotations, dual-axis |
+| Multi-panel (a)(b) | `\begin{figure*}` | `\textwidth` | Side-by-side subplots |
+| Concept/architecture | `\begin{figure*}` | `\textwidth` | Pipeline, system overview, flowchart |
+
+When generating matplotlib figures:
+- Single-column: `figsize=(columnwidth_in, columnwidth_in * 0.7)`
+- Full-width: `figsize=(textwidth_in, textwidth_in * 0.35)` or taller if needed
+- Read both values from `figure_config.json`
+
+---
+
 ## Anti-Patterns (NEVER do these)
 
 - No 3D effects (no 3D bar charts, no 3D scatter unless truly 3D data)