Maximum Neutron Star Mass in CCEGA and PSR J0952-0607: Proximity to Falsification

CCEGA predicts maximum neutron star mass M_max ≈ 2.33 ± 0.08 M_⊙ from stability conditions on the brane-world density-dependent coupling. PSR J0952−0607, the most massive known pulsar, has measured mass M = 2.35 ± 0.17 M_⊙ (Romani et al. 2025). The central value exceeds CCEGA prediction by ΔM = 0.02 M_⊙ = 20 MeV. Statistical analysis: combined uncertainty σ_combined = 0.188 M_⊙; discrepancy is 0.11σ, well within consistency. CCEGA is not yet falsified. However, the framework is acutely vulnerable to improved precision. Future measurements (NICER, pulsar timing arrays) can narrow uncertainty to σ < 0.03 M_⊙ by 2028–2030. Critical falsification threshold: if M(J0952) ≥ 2.35 M_⊙ at σ < 0.03 M_⊙, CCEGA's maximum mass mechanism is ruled out definitively at 3σ confidence. This represents the most direct, parameter-free falsifiable prediction of CCEGA: a single pulsar mass measurement can decide the framework. Unlike tidal deformability (which has parameter freedom via ρ_c), M_max is a direct consequence of brane geometry with no internal adjustment mechanism.