Nuclear Fusion and Fission in the Aether Physics Model (APM): Deterministic Valence Nucleation, Proton-Photon Ontology, and QMU Discriminators

Field: Physics and Astronomy (Physical Sciences)

This paper presents the first complete APM/QMU treatment of nuclear fusion and fission as a single deterministic microphysical process, distinguished only by a rupture threshold in boundary-defect inventory. The work is written as a long-term reference for QADI’s nuclear program: it defines the ontology objects, invariants, and decision variables that replace probabilistic tunneling language with discrete, testable gate conditions. Core ontology The APM is treated as deterministic: apparent “rates” in macroscopic observations are interpreted as aggregate counts of discrete micro-events under unresolved initial conditions, not intrinsic randomness. The nuclear mechanism is valence-conditioned nucleation: boundary-conditioned Aether loading drives discrete nucleation events that convert action-transfer structures into proton-, neutron-, or photon-channel outcomes depending on (i) valence-vacancy inventory and (ii) chronovibrational coherence (phase-lock). Proton-photon ontology and the central invariant A proton-channel action unit is defined: Sweeping operator: $swep = {\lambda_C}^2 F_q$ Propagation anchor: $c = F_q \lambda_C$ Proton-channel action unit: $phtn_p = m_p\,{\lambda_C}^3 {F_q}^2 = m_p\,swep\,c$ The universal holonomy factor appears through the Aether modulus ratio: $A_u/k_C = 16\pi^2$ and $\beta_0 = 1/(16\pi^2)$ The paper’s central invariant is the proton-channel action-surface density (“angular stress”): $\mathcal{S}_p \equiv phtn_p/(16\pi^2 {\lambda_C}^2)$ A proton-sector Casimir bridge identity is posed in ledger form: $phtn_p/(16\pi^2) = k_C\,{e_\mathrm{pmax}}^2$ Deterministic capture gate and gamma saturation A capture/conversion gate is defined as a Boolean condition: a proton manifests from an expanding action structure only if: an empty internal valence position exists in the capture neighborhood, and a Compton-length capture gap exists between magnetically aligned protons ($a_p=\lambda_C$ with sufficient alignment). If the gate fails, action escapes as radiation, and the paper proposes a deterministic gamma cascade mechanism: expanding action structures can saturate surrounding electron valence vacancies (vacancy exhaustion), producing intense hard radiation and enabling constructive neutron-closure pathways. Fusion/fission unification via rupture threshold Fusion-like and fission-like outcomes are separated by a rupture functional compared to a threshold: assembly if $\mathcal{R} < \mathcal{R}_{crit}$; break-apart if $\mathcal{R} \ge \mathcal{R}_{crit}$. To prevent hidden modeling, the paper introduces an explicit vacancy-saturation functional built only from integer vacancy counts and integer topology maxima: $\Phi_V = 1 - (N_{v,int}/N_{v,int,max})(N_{v,e}/N_{v,e,max})(N_{v,n}/N_{v,n,max})$. Experimental discriminators and reporting The paper specifies a QMU-first discriminator program that reports: vacancy inventories and maxima ($N_{v,int},N_{v,e},N_{v,n}$ and maxima), coherence/participation ($\kappa$, $\xi_B$), normalized rotational loading, rupture ratio $\mathcal{R}/\mathcal{R}_{crit}$,as discrete accounting variables suitable for falsifiable tests. Status and intended use This is Version 1.0 of the APM/QMU nuclear transformation framework. It is intended as both: a stable foundation (definitions, invariants, gates, and functionals), and a development roadmap (refining topology maxima, rupture constituents, and laboratory protocols as new measurements constrain nuclear geometry). Related APM/QMU context: the paper is ledger-compatible with prior QADI work on Casimir boundary stress, Casimir-driven nucleation, chronovibration, magnetic-charge bridging, photoelectric action transfer, and the universal $1/(16\pi^2)$ holonomy quotient.