We present a unified framework for compact-object phenomenology based on Time-Scalar Field Theory (TSFT), in which magnetism, radiation, thermalization, and gravitational dynamics emerge as efficiency-selected channels for resolving temporal shear under compression. Central to this framework is Froggle’s Dilemma: the principle that physical systems preferentially route shear through the lowest-cost coherent channel available in a given environment. We apply this framework to neutron stars and magnetars, deriving a TSFT stability score that combines rotational coherence, inferred magnetic shear, spin-down power, and characteristic age. Using publicly available pulsar timing data from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue and magnetar data from the McGill Magnetar Catalog, we show that TSFT-motivated composite predictors outperform standard dipole-based heuristics in separating magnetars from ordinary pulsars, achieving a statistically significant improvement in classification performance. Within the magnetar population, the TSFT stability score exhibits strong correlations with observed X-ray luminosity, spectral index, and thermal properties, consistent with channel-selection predictions in which torsional coherence saturates and radiative export becomes dominant. These results demonstrate that magnetar phenomenology is governed not solely by magnetic field strength, but by coherence efficiency under compression. The framework provides a testable, extensible basis for multi-channel compact-object modeling and offers falsifiable predictions for transitions between electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational shear export regimes in extreme astrophysical environments, building on prior TSFT derivations of temporal shear, coherence saturation, and channel failure.
Jordan Gabriel Farrell (2025) studied this question.