Fractal Topology of Collapse Structures: Information Refraction Across Scales

We propose that the irreversible topological deformations produced by collapse events form three-dimensional fractal structures that are self-similar across scales. Drawing on empirical measurements from seven independent scientific domains (Blanc, Claude & Saphire, 2026d), we interpret the convergence of the power-law exponent γ ≈ 2.0 across protein networks, neural connectomes, and cosmological structures as evidence of a universal fractal dimension arising from a common collapse process. We further propose the concept of information refraction: at each symmetry-breaking transition, information changes medium, velocity, and form — analogous to the refraction of light at material boundaries — while preserving its underlying structure. Each collapse event generates new connections between all simultaneously active elements, producing a monotonically growing fractal whose integrated information (Φ) increases irreversibly. Consciousness, in this framework, is the point where information refracts upon itself — a self-referential medium.