Strong mapping
Plausible, needs math
Open problem
Mass
Bare quark mass (2.16 MeV for up, 4.7 MeV for down) = total orbital system energy of the quark's dc1 complex. Different masses come from different numbers of entrained substrate particles and different orbital radii. The up quark entrains a smaller, lighter orbital system than the down quark.
The 99% of proton mass that comes from "gluon field energy" in QCD maps directly to the counter-rotating boundary layer energy between the quark orbital systems. This is the framework's strongest correspondence.
The 99% of proton mass that comes from "gluon field energy" in QCD maps directly to the counter-rotating boundary layer energy between the quark orbital systems. This is the framework's strongest correspondence.
Strong
Spin (½)
All quarks are spin-½ fermions. In the substrate picture, this means each quark orbital system has an intrinsic angular momentum that requires 720-degree rotation to return to its initial state. Your notes on the Hise spinor animation capture this: the "strings" are the counter-rotating eddies that must unwind through two full rotations.
Bush's 3D pilot-wave paper shows helical trajectories naturally produce half-integer angular momentum when the helix diameter is unresolved. A quark orbital system spinning in the substrate would trace exactly such a helix.
Bush's 3D pilot-wave paper shows helical trajectories naturally produce half-integer angular momentum when the helix diameter is unresolved. A quark orbital system spinning in the substrate would trace exactly such a helix.
Plausible
Color charge
In QCD, each quark carries one of three "color charges" (red, green, blue) and bound states must be color-neutral. In the substrate picture, these three colors map to three orthogonal orbital orientations at the central junction where all three quark orbits interlock. A stable proton requires three mutually perpendicular orbital planes — the only configuration where the counter-rotating boundaries at the junction are topologically stable.
This is geometrically analogous to the Borromean rings: remove any one ring and the other two fall apart. Three interlocking orbits, no two of which share a plane, is the simplest stable topology — and it maps onto the SU(3) color singlet condition.
This is geometrically analogous to the Borromean rings: remove any one ring and the other two fall apart. Three interlocking orbits, no two of which share a plane, is the simplest stable topology — and it maps onto the SU(3) color singlet condition.
Plausible
Electric charge
Up quarks have charge +2/3, down quarks have -1/3. These fractional charges are the hardest property to derive from substrate dynamics. The framework would need to show that the net dc1 current flow pattern of each orbital system creates an asymmetric coupling to the electromagnetic field (itself a substrate excitation) with exactly these ratios.
The fact that charges come in thirds (and sum to integers for baryons) likely connects to the three-fold junction topology. But deriving the exact fractions from first principles is an unsolved problem.
The fact that charges come in thirds (and sum to integers for baryons) likely connects to the three-fold junction topology. But deriving the exact fractions from first principles is an unsolved problem.
Open
Confinement
Quarks cannot exist as free particles. In the substrate picture, the counter-rotating boundary between separating quarks forms a flux tube with constant energy density (~1 GeV/fm). When stretched beyond ~1 fm, the tube's stored energy exceeds the pair-creation threshold and snaps into new quark-antiquark pairs. No free quark ever escapes.
This mechanism is physically identical to vortex tube reconnection in superfluids — a well-studied phenomenon in He-II.
This mechanism is physically identical to vortex tube reconnection in superfluids — a well-studied phenomenon in He-II.
Strong
Flavor (6 types)
The six quark flavors (up, down, strange, charm, top, bottom) come in three generations of increasing mass. In the substrate picture, these would be progressively larger and more complex orbital system configurations — each generation entraining more dc1 material and requiring higher energy boundary layers. The mass ratios between generations (u:c:t roughly 1:600:80000) would need to emerge from quantized orbital system sizes.
Volovik's He-3 work shows that multiple fermion species can emerge from a single substrate with multiple Fermi points. But deriving the specific six-flavor spectrum is far beyond the current framework.
Volovik's He-3 work shows that multiple fermion species can emerge from a single substrate with multiple Fermi points. But deriving the specific six-flavor spectrum is far beyond the current framework.
Open
Asymptotic freedom
At very short distances (high energies), quarks behave as nearly free particles — the strong force weakens. In the substrate picture, when two quarks are very close, their orbital systems nearly overlap and the counter-rotating boundary between them is thin and weak. At the limit of zero separation, there is no boundary at all — the quarks share the same co-rotating flow and don't interact. As they separate, the boundary grows and the interaction strengthens.
This qualitatively reproduces asymptotic freedom and is consistent with the running coupling constant of QCD.
This qualitatively reproduces asymptotic freedom and is consistent with the running coupling constant of QCD.
Plausible