Falsifiable Predictions for Geometric Vacuum Stress: The 6.24 Ratio and Mars Sign Reversal in Planetary Ephemerides

Summary This preprint presents two parameter-free, falsifiable predictions for planetary ephemerides arising from a geometric vacuum stress (GVS) framework. Key Predictions The 6.24 Ratio: The anomalous residuals of Venus and Mercury obey a fixed ratio: $$\frac{\Delta\dot{\omega}{\mathrm{Venus}}}{\Delta\dot{\omega}{\mathrm{Mercury}}} = \frac{1}{6.24}$$ This ratio is independent of the coupling strength parameter Ξ. Mars Sign Reversal: Mars exhibits a negative residual (perihelion lag), in contrast to the positive residuals of Mercury and Venus. Falsification Criteria The model imposes strict rejection conditions: Ratio test: Falsified if the observed ratio deviates from 1/6.24 beyond ephemeris uncertainties (2–3σ) Sign test: Falsified if Mars residual is non-negative at statistical significance These criteria cannot be satisfied by parameter tuning. Observational Tests Modern planetary ephemerides (INPOP, DE, EPM) BepiColombo radio science data (2026+) Mars spacecraft ranging and Doppler tracking Note This work does not argue for the correctness of GVS. It provides a minimal set of empirical criteria by which the framework may be decisively tested or rejected. Keywords: planetary ephemerides, falsifiable predictions, geometric vacuum stress, perihelion precession, Mercury, Venus, Mars, BepiColombo Related submission: MNRAS Letters (in preparation)