What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to define a framework that guides how theories can coherently extend within their limits.

February 12, 2026Open Access

Elastic Spacetime with Scale-Dependent Coupling (ESSC) v14 Boundary Diagnostics and Prohibited Extensions

Key Points

This research aims to define a framework that guides how theories can coherently extend within their limits.
Formalizes ESSC as a boundary diagnostic framework.
Establishes four minimal boundary concepts related to measurement and irreversibility.
Defines prohibited extensions correlating with structural violations.
Applies the framework to major theories like quantum interpretations and general relativity.
Identifies that many foundational issues stem from inappropriate extensions rather than incorrect theories.
Clarifies the necessity to respect theoretical boundaries for coherence.
Demonstrates that progress in foundational physics involves identifying where theories should stop rather than eliminating boundaries.

Abstract

Elastic Spacetime with Scale-Dependent Coupling (ESSC) v14 formalizes ESSC as a boundary diagnostic framework for foundational physics.This version does not introduce new physical laws, dynamical equations, entities, or predictive mechanisms. Instead, it systematizes how and why otherwise coherent theories fail when extended beyond their structurally admissible domains. ESSC v14 fixes four minimal boundary notions—measurement as an irreversible terminal operation, π as the termination boundary where translation equivalence fails, the arrow of time as a post-termination structural asymmetry, and Now as the leading edge of irreversibly fixed history. These notions are treated strictly as boundary markers, not as dynamical variables or emergent quantities. Building on these definitions, ESSC v14 introduces a canonical list of prohibited extensions (P1–P11). Each prohibited extension corresponds to a specific class of structural violation, such as demanding unique outcomes from reversible dynamics, internalizing termination into parameters or initial conditions, erasing boundaries via limiting procedures, or imposing global closure on non-terminating descriptions. Applied uniformly to major quantum interpretations, classical mechanics, and general relativity, this diagnostic shows that many long-standing foundational difficulties arise not from incorrect theories, but from inadmissible extension demands. The framework remains neutral with respect to competing interpretations and does not rank them by correctness or completeness. It evaluates only whether a given explanatory demand is structurally compatible with the role assigned to a theory. ESSC v14 is intended as a pre-theoretical diagnostic instrument. Its role is to clarify where theoretical descriptions must stop in order to remain coherent, prior to any attempt at unification, modification, or deeper dynamical explanation. Progress, on this account, is achieved not by eliminating boundaries, but by identifying and respecting them.

Elastic Spacetime with Scale-Dependent Coupling (ESSC) v14 Boundary Diagnostics and Prohibited Extensions

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