VEQF Photon Vortex Ontology_ Mechanical Foundations of Light Propagation, Atomic Spectra, and Redshift

This document synthesizes the mechanical ontology of photon propagation within the Vacuum Energy Quanta Field(VEQF) framework, establishing photons as topological excitations rather than abstract quantum excitations. Wepresent a comprehensive derivation of hydrogen spectral lines (Lyman, Balmer, Paschen series) from resonantgeometric coupling between photon vortices and atomic strain envelopes, with absorption governed by envelopeinflation and anchor strain rather than electron deformation. The redshift mechanism is refined as a hybrid processcombining spectral filtering (differential survival based on impedance mismatch) with adiabatic pitch adaptationdriven by momentum conservation: the photon vortex helical pitch stretches in under-dense regions to engage aconstant count of Vacuum Energy Quanta (VEQ) per cycle, while the vortex angular frequency (phase rate of change)remains topologically invariant. We derive geometric constraints for the 121.6 nm Lyman-α photon, estimatingvortex base diameter (~20–40 nm), longitudinal length (~250–500 nm), and precession cone angle (~4.5°), allconsistent with the electron's coherence domain. Energy conservation is maintained through wake deposition (workdone against vacuum elasticity during pitch adaptation), replacing abstract "photon collapse" with mechanicalenergy transfer. This ontology eliminates teleological path selection (Principle of Least Action) in favor of causal, localloss minimization (Principle of Least Tension), restoring strict causality to light propagation while explainingchromatic lensing, spectral line formation, and cosmological redshift within a unified, timeless 3D spatial framework. A key testable prediction distinguishes VEQF from standard quantum mechanics: atomic radius scales linearly with quantum number (r ∝ n) versus quadratically (r ∝ n**2).