Local Astrometric Exclusion of Fifth Forces from Continuity-Enforced Gaia Data

This record presents a model-independent, exclusion-first astrometric framework (“VAULT v1.1”) that derives hard upper bounds on coherent transverse accelerations in the Solar neighborhood using Gaia DR3 epoch astrometry, with quantitative projections for Gaia DR4 sensitivity. The method enforces geometric continuity across overlapping sky tiles and epochs, constructing a null manifold of all astrometric trajectories consistent with Gaia uncertainties and closure constraints. From the absence of detectable curvature or cross-tile inconsistency, a maximum allowed transverse acceleration is obtained, yielding local geometric exclusion limits on additional gravitational interactions. The resulting bounds are translated into standard fifth-force parameter space (α,λ)(\alpha,\lambda)(α,λ) without assuming galactic equilibrium, dark-matter profiles, mass-to-light relations, interpolating functions, or force mediation mechanisms. A distance-resolved diagnostic identifies which AU–pc scales dominate the exclusion at each force range. An effective MOND mapping is shown for comparison, with explicit caveats regarding screening and purely radial effects. Included are the formal exclusion theorem, corollaries for mass and fifth-force constraints, and publication-standard exclusion figures. The framework provides local, kinematic constraints that strengthen with improved astrometric baselines and are intended as foundational exclusion geometry, not as model fitting or detection claims.