The Optico-Hydrodynamic Vacuum (OHV) Framework: A Coherent Dissipative Alternative to Cosmological Expansion

We introduce the Optico-Hydrodynamic Vacuum (OHV) framework, a cosmological model treating the vacuum as a continuous, optically active physical medium (Primary Energy). In this framework, cosmological redshift emerges from coherent dissipative energy loss of photons (dE/ds = -alpha*E) rather than metric expansion, leading to a logarithmic distance-redshift relation and a (1+z)^-1 surface brightness scaling. We calibrate the single free parameter (dissipation coefficient alpha approximately 0.085) using the Pantheon+ dataset (N=1701). While the standard Lambda-CDM model provides a statistically superior fit to local Type Ia supernovae via the inclusion of Dark Energy, the OHV framework naturally resolves the surface brightness anomalies of high-redshift (z > 10) galaxies recently observed by JWST. By confronting these datasets, OHV highlights an observational tension that may be explained by vacuum-radiation feedback during the "Cosmic Noon" epoch. The model demonstrates that vacuum dissipation offers a fundamentally grounded, one-parameter alternative to cosmic acceleration.