Audit note. This paper predates the framework's methodology audit of 2026-05-30. The semicircular bowed-flux-line ansatz that produces the /2 path-length penalty is correctly flagged in canon (ANCHOR §15 item 64) as not yet derived from a variational / geodesic argument; the 0. 6\% agreement on the pion EM mass splitting is therefore at Proposition tier rather than as a parameter-free derivation. The combinatorial choice of ₐ₂₃ as the kinematic multiplier (rather than a₀, m_, or any other available lattice scale) is similarly assertion-stage (§15 item 53 + 2026-05-19 closure). §16. 3 search-space audit: the precision-match form m² = (/2) ² has bounded but non-zero formula freedom that has not yet been item-by-item audited. The structural-mechanism content (mesons as unconfined dipoles vs baryons as confined static defects; the 1D-vs-3D radiation dichot We derive the electromagnetic mass splitting of the pion multiplet from the 4. 8. 8 tensor network. Mesons act as oscillating quantum dipoles with unconfined EM fields. The semicircular 3D flux path induces a pi/2 penalty, predicting a splitting of 4. 56 MeV (experiment: 4. 59 MeV), reproducing Dashen's Theorem with zero parameters. 2026-06-20 legacy erratum: This version adds a canon erratum note to the legacy paper. Meson splitting needs current spectroscopy audit The body is preserved as a historical derivation trail; the erratum note identifies the current ANCHOR/DRIFT status and superseded claims. 2026-06-21 canon refresh: This version incorporates the 2026-06-21 ANCHOR/DRIFT/PTMS canon refresh and rebuilt local PDF.
D. G. Elliman (Sun,) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: