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Nuclear Structure · April 2026

Spin-Orbit Derived and Explained

The nuclear spin-orbit coupling has been a fitted parameter since Goeppert Mayer and Jensen's shell model in 1949. This paper derives it algebraically: D₄ triality in the 600-cell provides the vector–spinor exchange that mixes orbital and intrinsic angular momentum.

Eric McLean · Independent Researcher, Edinburgh · Pentagon Physics · 14 April 2026 · 10.5281/zenodo.19571686
7Magic numbers
75Years as fitted
1Triality
0Free parameters
Key Results

A seventy-five-year fitted parameter, derived

The 600-cell sits on S³ = SU(2). Hyperspherical harmonics on S³ have degeneracy (l+1)²; the 600-cell is the unique regular 4D polytope whose adjacency spectrum preserves all-perfect-square multiplicities (1²–6²). It contains embedded 24-cell substructures forming the D₄ root system — the unique Lie algebra with triality, the outer automorphism exchanging vector and spinor representations. That exchange is the algebraic mechanism for spin-orbit coupling.

1
The 600-cell is the unique regular four-dimensional polytope with all-perfect-square multiplicities in its adjacency spectrum.
2
Embedded 24-cells in the 600-cell form the D₄ root system. D₄ is the unique Lie algebra with triality — an outer automorphism exchanging vector and spinor reps.
3
Triality mixes orbital angular momentum (vector) with intrinsic spin (spinor). This exchange is the algebraic origin of nuclear spin-orbit coupling.
4
The d²-fold eigenspaces, split by triality, reproduce the seven observed magic numbers (2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, 126) with no fitted coupling strength.
Kill Conditions
K1: Any magic number not reproduced by the D₄ triality splitting — derivation falsified
K2: A different Lie algebra (not D₄) producing equivalent spin-orbit structure in the 600-cell — uniqueness claim broken
K3: An independent regular 4D polytope with all-perfect-square multiplicities — uniqueness of the 600-cell breaks
↗ Read on Zenodo doi:10.5281/zenodo.19571686