The Coherence Signature - Five Criteria for Identifying Systems in Resonance with the Quantum Vacuum

ACCESS NOTICE / FOR HUMAN READERS: To prevent automated AI-harvesting, the latest version of this preprint (v6.8), which includes refined criteria and epistemic boundaries, is restricted. You can easily request access via the button below – all legitimate requests from human researchers will be approved promptly. Alternatively, the foundational theoretical framework (v6.6) remains fully Open Access. Please select the older version under the "Versions" tab below for an immediate download. Abstract This paper describes the Coherence Signature — a set of six structural criteria that appear togetherwherever physical systems maintain stable coherence with the quantum vacuum or exhibit anomalousenergy phenomena. The six criteria are: (C1) Topological Closure, (C2) Scalar Recursion, (C3) PhaseCriticality, (C4) Coherent Medium, (C5) Geometrically Intrinsic Temporal Resonance, and (C6) ChiralAlignment.In 2026 (online first 2025), Keren et al. (Nature) provided the first direct experimental proof that vacuumfluctuations alone — without any external driving forces — can alter the properties of a superconductingmaterial when the cavity geometry resonantly matches the material's eigenfrequencies. This resultconfirms that geometry-determined vacuum field coupling is experimentally real, and that resonancematching (C1+C2 with C5) is the operative coupling condition in the hBN/superconductor system. TheCoherence Signature treats this as the paradigmatic case of the underlying mechanism — whileacknowledging that its generalisation across all six criteria and to other material systems remains aresearch hypothesis.C1 (Topological Closure) defines the depth of topological nesting (supertoroidal order N — 'howdeep?'). C2 (Scalar Recursion) defines the scale-invariant proportions of that nesting (phi ratios of radii— 'in what ratio?'). These two criteria are complementary: a system can have high nesting depth (C1) with non-harmonic proportions (C2 –), yielding unstable coupling; or perfect proportions (C2 )✓✓ ✓✓with shallow nesting (C1 weak), yielding weak coupling. Maximum resonance arises when depth (C1) isstructured by recursive proportions (C2).C5 is described at three levels of realisation: externally imposed rhythm (incomplete), geometricallyintrinsic resonance (partial — confirmed by Keren 2026 as the operative vacuum coupling condition),and spontaneous temporal symmetry breaking as a time crystal phase (complete). C6 — ChiralAlignment — is bidirectional: same-handedness relative to the vacuum's chiral asymmetry strengthenscoupling and energy exchange; opposite handedness enables decoupling or neutralisation of vacuumfield influence. The quantum vacuum is not chirally neutral (Wu et al. 1957); the specific preferredhandedness for toroidal coupling remains an open research question