Vacuum Microstructure: Tree-Level Curvature–Photon Coupling and Exact Decoupling of Zero-Point Energy

Vacuum Microstructure: Tree-Level Curvature–Photon Coupling and Exact Decoupling of Zero-Point Energy | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Vacuum Microstructure: Tree-Level Curvature–Photon Coupling and Exact Decoupling of Zero-Point Energy Shalender Singh, Vishnu Priya Singh Parmar This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8991051/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We construct a covariant effective field theory in which vacuum exhibits dynamical polarization—not as an emergent artifact of charged-matter loops, but as an intrinsic response sector encoded by an antisymmetric tensor field \({M}_{\mu\nu}\). The framework realizes a vanishing-background / finite-response principle: the vacuum carries no monopole or dipole content \(⟨{M}_{\mu\nu}⟩=0\), yet mediates a curvature-dependent electromagnetic susceptibility at tree level. Integrating out the vacuum microstructure generates curvature–photon operators reproducing the known effective action structure of general relativity coupled to quantum electrodynamics, but with parametrically distinct coefficient scaling set by vacuum stiffness rather than electron-loop suppression. This leads to a polarization-dependent modification of photon propagation in weak gravitational fields and predicts a measurable birefringence signal in finite, quasi-local resonant-cavity experiments under terrestrial gravity. We further establish a Baseline Neutrality Theorem implementing trace-modified gravitational coupling, which renders constant vacuum energy gravitationally inert through exact trace cancellation while preserving all dynamical vacuum response phenomena. This eliminates ultraviolet sensitivity associated with zero-point energy gravitation and is radiatively stable within the effective field theory regime. A residual integration constant remains as an observational input and is not fixed by the present framework. The resulting theory consistently separates baseline vacuum energy from dynamical vacuum polarization, maintains general covariance, and yields falsifiable quasi-local laboratory predictions in bounded regions , providing a concrete experimental pathway for probing vacuum stiffness dynamics and offering a controlled resolution of the vacuum-energy gravitation catastrophe without fine-tuning. Astrophysics and Cosmology vacuum polarization effective field theory curvature–photon coupling zero-point energy semiclassical gravity birefringence Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8991051","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":598332368,"identity":"c06d36c8-4317-4868-94c2-3be1e9e5e637","order_by":0,"name":"Shalender Singh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZjA6wMAHZEswMNgAKcbGA0RpYYNoSQNpacCvhQFVy2GwCF4t8u28h18X/Lkjz8bee/DGxz3n7da2HwbaUmMTjUuLwWG+NOuZbc8M23jOJVvOeHY7eduZRKCWY2m5Dbi0MPOYGfM2HGZsk8gxk+Y5cDvZ7ABQC2PDYZxa5JuBWnj+HLZvk39jJv3nwLlks/MP8WthOMxj/JiH7XBimwSPmTTDgQN2ZjcI2GJwmMeMmbftcHIbT46xZc+B5ASzG0BbEvD4Rb7/jPFnoMNs+9nPGN74ccDO3ux8+sMHH2pscDuMgYFNApmXCFaZgFs5CDB/QObZ41c8CkbBKBgFIxEAANPiYvM/rH2eAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shalender","middleName":"","lastName":"Singh","suffix":""},{"id":598332369,"identity":"4e4aea2f-0cd9-409f-a746-c7ae3df3ad0e","order_by":1,"name":"Vishnu Priya Singh Parmar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vishnu","middleName":"Priya Singh","lastName":"Parmar","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-27 19:05:53","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8991051/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8991051/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104400799,"identity":"ee030d7c-97c4-40e2-ab6a-481b17cc245d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:11:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1367146,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"spacegeometryrs.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8991051/v1_covered_0880d823-ee6c-429c-b2fe-a0f65a047242.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVacuum Microstructure: Tree-Level Curvature–Photon Coupling and Exact Decoupling of Zero-Point Energy\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"vacuum polarization, effective field theory, curvature–photon coupling, zero-point energy, semiclassical gravity, birefringence","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8991051/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8991051/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe construct a covariant effective field theory in which vacuum exhibits dynamical polarization—not as an emergent artifact of charged-matter loops, but as an intrinsic response sector encoded by an antisymmetric tensor field \\({M}_{\\mu\\nu}\\). The framework realizes a vanishing-background / finite-response principle: the vacuum carries no monopole or dipole content \\(⟨{M}_{\\mu\\nu}⟩=0\\), yet mediates a curvature-dependent electromagnetic susceptibility at tree level.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIntegrating out the vacuum microstructure generates curvature–photon operators reproducing the known effective action structure of general relativity coupled to quantum electrodynamics, but with parametrically distinct coefficient scaling set by vacuum stiffness rather than electron-loop suppression. 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