Status: CANONICAL Paper: 15 — Bound Energy and the Structural Origin of the Fine-Structure Constant
The fine-structure constant α is not a fixed constant but a geometric projection of local spacetime segmentation. Near massive objects, space is more finely segmented, reducing the electromagnetically accessible fraction of electron rest energy and thus the effective α.
Effective radius in segmented space:
r = φ / N_e
where N_e is the number of segments for an electron and φ is the fundamental segment length.
- α varies with local segmentation density
- Near Sgr A*: increased segmentation → decreased effective α
- Observed S2 frequency shift reproduced without Doppler or metric expansion
- α emerges as coupling limit imposed by spatial structure
- Electron rest energy is partitioned by segmentation
- Only a fraction (proportional to α) is electromagnetically accessible
- This fraction depends on local Ξ(r)
- In flat space (Ξ → 0): α takes its standard value ≈ 1/137
- Paper 03 (Frequency Framework): Frequency as fundamental observable
- Paper 08 (Group Velocity): Segment density and wave properties
- Paper 13 (π and φ): Structural constants governing segmentation
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