Mechanical Resolution of the Dark Matter Anomaly: Galactic Rotation Curves as Topological Creases

This paper provides a purely mechanical solution to the Dark Matter problem. Within the Universal Sheet Tension (UST) Model framework, galactic rotation curves are shown to remain flat due to "Topological Creases"—longitudinal displacement wakes created in the 1D vacuum medium (Stochastic String Network) by galactic motion. These creases induce local increases in sheet tension ($\tau_{local}$), providing the additional centripetal force previously attributed to invisible mass halos. The model offers a unique, testable prediction: asymmetric gravitational lensing based on the direction of a galaxy's macroscopic motion.