Relational Manifold Dynamics (RMD) is a formal conceptual framework for modelling relational persistence, divergence, recurrence, and collapse as the dynamics of coupled cognitive manifolds under shared latent fields. The framework represents relational systems through latent field projection, internal Riemannian metrics, spectral compatibility, coupling coefficients, geometric flow, curvature concentration, topological obstruction, and formal surgery. Its central claim is that relational breakdown may begin as spectral-geometric divergence before becoming behaviorally visible. This version introduces a dedicated section on performative externalization and topological surgery, formalizing how closed relational geodesics may be reinforced or disrupted through external representation. The model defines a performance index, an identity-resistance coefficient dependent on loop curvature, a rejection function, a reintegration time, and an energy threshold for topological surgery. This extension was developed through the structural analysis of performative reenactment as exemplified by The Act of Killing, but is stated as a general geometric mechanism applicable to confession, testimony, therapy, memorialization, propaganda, public reenactment, and judicial process. RMD is not a psychological, clinical, or metaphysical model. It does not claim direct access to mental contents or cognitive geometry. All empirical access is mediated through proxy structures such as response dynamics, behavioral synchrony, linguistic drift, attentional patterns, and longitudinal relational data. The framework includes a minimal falsification protocol centered on the prediction that inferred geometric divergence should precede observable behavioral collapse under non-impulsive transitions and bounded noise.
Alberto Valis (Wed,) studied this question.