The Spinning Ladder: The Linear Regge Resonance Spectrum, Forced by the Confining Flux Tube
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: One axiom. One operation. Zero free parameters. Hadrons fall on straight lines when plotted as mass-squared versus spin — the Regge trajectories — and QCD reproduces them only numerically. This paper forces the linearity. A confined particle is a stretch of flux tube, and the fold fixes the tube: a massless self-confining carrier binds it to constant width one-half (the fold preimage of the One). A rotating relativistic string of fixed tension gives the linear Regge law M²(J) = M₀² + σJ — mass-squared linear in spin, equal spacing — the forced shape of every hadron’s excitation tower. The fold tower supplies the multiplicity: level d carries 2^d states. Linearity, spacing, and multiplicity are forced with zero parameters; only the overall slope σ (tube tension ≈ 1.1 GeV²) is anchored by one trajectory. Machine-checked; reproduces from one command. A standalone result within the Smithian Fold Theory of Everything (SFTOE). Full corpus, code, and the run-it-yourself VERIFY.md protocol: https://github.com/MettaMazza/Smithian-Fold-Theory
Author: Smith, Maria
Language: English
Subfield: Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7166584079