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Foundations · April 2026

The Fine Structure Constant Is Not a Coupling

α⁻¹ is not a coupling: four sectors, one number, one geometry. The fine structure constant (137.036) is not an electromagnetic coupling strength but a structural quantity appearing across four independent measurements.

Eric McLean · Independent Researcher, Edinburgh · Pentagon Physics · 23 April 2026 · DOI
4Sectors
5Kill conditions
0Free parameters
1Axiom
Key Results

Four sectors, one number, one geometry

The paper proposes that the fine structure constant (137.036) is not an electromagnetic coupling strength, but rather a structural quantity appearing across four independent measurements: the cosmological constant, gravitational constant, Hubble expansion rate, and a predicted fifth measurement related to fuzzy dark matter. Three unrelated experimental programmes yield the same value within measurement precision using a pre-determined formula. The work identifies five falsifiable conditions testable with existing instruments, including a pulsar timing array search for a signal oscillating at approximately fifty billionths of a Hertz.

↗ Read on Zenodo doi:10.5281/zenodo.19705712