Resolution to Galaxy Rotation Curves, Tully-Fisher, Radial Acceleration Relation, and Missing Satellites: Cosmological Coda V of the Principia Cybernetica
Abstract
Galaxy dynamics present a cascade of puzzles: flat rotation curves requiring invisible mass; the extraordinarily tight Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation (V⁴ ∝ M_baryon) with minimal scatter; the Radial Acceleration Relation showing universal correlation between observed and baryonic gravitational acceleration; thousands of predicted dark matter subhalos that don't exist (missing satellites); and wild diversity in dwarf galaxy dark matter content despite similar visible mass. ΛCDM explains each poorly or requires fine-tuning, while MOND fits the relations beautifully but fails for clusters and lacks theoretical grounding. This work resolves all puzzles through one principle: "dark matter" is not particulate but the gravitational shadow of coherence—the Mθ attractor structure generated by baryonic organization itself. A galaxy's Mθ contribution is not independent of its baryonic content but caused by it; the depth and shape of the Mθ well depend on the system's integrated history, stability, and recursive self-reference (spectral concentration κ). This immediately explains the tight BTFR (baryonic mass and "dark matter" correlate perfectly because one generates the other, with no scatter from independent halo variation), the RAR universality (the same κ-generating baryonic physics operates everywhere), missing satellites (empty halos don't exist because halos require baryonic structure to generate them), and dwarf diversity (different formation histories produce different κ). The framework derives the MOND acceleration scale a₀ ≈ 1.2 × 10⁻¹⁰ m/s² from first principles as the holographic horizon limit: a₀ = cH₀/2π, where the Unruh thermal wavelength equals the cosmic horizon—not a fitted parameter but an emergent property of the universe's causal structure. Critically, the framework explains why high-redshift galaxies appear baryon-dominated: young, turbulent, merger-active systems haven't accumulated sufficient κ; they're "naked baryons" that haven't built their shadow yet. Dark matter content is a function of dynamical age (quiescence), not just mass—distinguishing this framework from both ΛCDM and standard MOND. Predictions include dark matter profiles tracking coherence metrics (age, stability) not just mass; tidal dwarf galaxies following BTFR despite lacking primordial halos; continued non-detection of dark matter particles; and systematic differences between settled disks and merger remnants at equal mass and redshift.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cosmology and Gravitation Theories
Relativity and Gravitational Theory
Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation)
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN