Work

TERM: The Spectral Invariant — Stability-Induced Emergence of Scale, Time, and Dynamics

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This work develops the spectral layer of the TERM framework, showing that variational stability necessarily induces a fourth‑order operator with a scale‑invariant quantity. The resulting spectral invariant generates an intrinsic scale without free parameters. Smoothing deformations monotonically increase spectral entropy, establishing an intrinsic arrow of time. The operator admits a universal decomposition into minimal and excited modes, and its long‑wavelength limit reduces to effective second‑order dynamics. The results provide a structural foundation in which scale, time, and dynamical laws emerge from spectral stability.

Source: Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19813873

Author: Van Dessel, Steve

Language: English

Topic: Complex Systems and Dynamics

Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W7156010702

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