Coordinate Density Field Theory (CDFT): A Split-Metric Coordinate-Compression Framework for Gravity

### AbstractCoordinate Density Field Theory (CDFT) models gravity as a single dimensionless scalar compression field on a fixed Minkowski reference. Operational rods and clocks follow an exponential physical metric; for sourcing/variation only, matter couples via an isotropic Weyl rescaling, yielding a trace-sourced field equation on a vacuum-subtracted weak-field branch. Although scalar-led, CDFT includes a non-propagating gravitomagnetic potential and a minimal transverse-traceless tensor sector, so it is not purely scalar. In the static weak-field limit it reproduces the leading post-Newtonian tests (gamma_PPN = beta_PPN = 1). For a non-spinning exponential exterior it predicts a photon-ring diameter +4.6% relative to Schwarzschild at fixed mass and distance, and with an absorbing-boundary prescription gives no long-lived echoes. If interiors depend only on relative compression, sensitivities vanish and dipole radiation is absent, leaving a suppressed quadrupolar scalar channel. A Lambda-free FRW branch yields late-time acceleration as a boundary-fixed integration mode; a GR-emulator dictionary is given for late-time sub-horizon linear comparisons. Galaxy phenomenology uses a one-scale mu-law tied to the expansion rate, and a local-domain offset can rescale distance-ladder inferences without changing the global expansion history. ### Files- `CDFT.pdf` — compiled preprint (v2; Feb 21, 2026)- `CDFT_source_v2.zip` — LaTeX source (`CDFT.tex`) + bibliography database (`refs.bib`) + prebuilt bibliography (`CDFT.bbl`) + `README.md` ### Build (source ZIP)This source package compiles **without running BibTeX** (the bibliography is included as `CDFT.bbl`).Run:- `pdflatex CDFT.tex` (twice; a third time only if LaTeX asks to rerun for cross-references) *(Optional)* If you prefer to regenerate the bibliography from `refs.bib`, you can run:- `pdflatex CDFT.tex`- `bibtex CDFT`- `pdflatex CDFT.tex` (twice) ### Keywordsgravitation; alternative theories of gravity; quantum gravity; scalar field; cosmology; compact objects; post-Newtonian tests ### How to citeAwdhoot, Tushar (2026). *Coordinate Density Field Theory (CDFT): A Split-Metric Scalar Compression Framework for Gravity* (Version v2). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18722661