Galaxy Dynamics as Representational Closure: A Constraint-Based Account of Rotation Curves and Scaling Relations

Galaxy Dynamics as Representational Closure: A Constraint-Based Account of Rotation Curves and Scaling Relations This paper examines galaxy rotation curves and population-level scaling relations from a representability-based perspective. Rather than proposing new dynamics or invoking unseen matter components, it asks why galactic observations close into stable, low-dimensional relations at all. The analysis treats flat rotation curves and scaling regularities as consequences of finite representational capacity. When observational coherence must be maintained across extended systems using only relational information, only certain configurations remain representationally admissible. Galaxy-scale regularities arise as structural closure outcomes under these constraints, independent of detailed formation histories, environmental contingencies, or microscopic physical variation. The framework does not deny the possible existence of dark matter, nor does it modify standard gravitational dynamics. Instead, it separates ontological questions from representational necessity, showing why observed regularities persist even when underlying physical details differ. Galaxy behavior is reframed as a problem of representational admissibility rather than as evidence of dynamical failure or missing physics.