What does this research mean for the field?

Modeling the vacuum using a one-form gauge field on the links of a simple cubic lattice formed by FCC nodes and octahedral voids provides the correct Maxwell photon polarization count and protects masslessness via centrosymmetry. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To construct a consistent emergent electromagnetic gauge sector supporting a gapless photon with two physical polarizations within an FCC quantum error-correcting vacuum model.

August 30, 2026Open Access

Electromagnetism on the cubic sublattice of the FCC vacuum: the correct photon polarization count, and masslessness from centrosymmetry

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Authors

RKRaghu Kulkarni

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Implication

Theoretical analysis reveals emergent Maxwellian electromagnetism on an FCC vacuum's cubic sublattice, indicating centrosymmetry preserves photon masslessness without gauge-invariance assumptions.

Key Points

To construct a consistent emergent electromagnetic gauge sector supporting a gapless photon with two physical polarizations within an FCC quantum error-correcting vacuum model.
Analyzed the topological and geometric properties of a simple cubic sublattice formed by FCC nodes and octahedral voids connected by <100> links.
Evaluated mode counts, bipartite lattice structure, operator algebra commutation with code qubits, and inversion symmetry (centrosymmetry) within the lattice complex.
Demonstrated that a one-form gauge field on <100> links yields precisely one pure-gauge mode and two transverse polarization modes per site, matching Maxwell's count purely from lattice geometry.
Found that bipartite sublattice structure ensures an ungapped Coulomb phase, while bond star centrosymmetry forbids piezoelectric coupling, preventing photon mass generation without gauge-invariance assumptions.
Established that composite matter hops through interstitial voids naturally induce gauge coupling and yield a three-dimensional toric code admitting a physical fine-structure constant of alpha = 1/137.

Cite This Study

Raghu Kulkarni (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f08e6c1a8fb52e79cc08 https://doi.org/10.13140/rg.2.2.15860.10889

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Implication

Theoretical analysis reveals emergent Maxwellian electromagnetism on an FCC vacuum's cubic sublattice, indicating centrosymmetry preserves photon masslessness without gauge-invariance assumptions.