Vacuum as a Superfluid Medium - Mechanical Foundations

Description This paper treats the quantum vacuum as a superfluid medium — specifically a vector superfluid with an orientable order parameter, analogous to superfluid He-3. The medium parameters are not chosen: ε₀ and 1/μ₀ are already the inertial density and torsional stiffness terms in Maxwell's equations, forcing the identification without freedom. Seven directly measured constants (c, ℏ, G, ε₀, μ₀, mₑ, α) are the only inputs. Electroweak and QCD scales appearing in intermediate steps are derived from these seven via condensate self-consistency equations; no additional free parameters enter. Key quantitative results Cosmological constant: 5.2450 × 10⁻¹⁰ J m⁻³ (obs: 5.2440 × 10⁻¹⁰, error 0.018%)Fine-structure constant: 1/137.02 (obs: 1/137.036, error 0.01%)Neutrino mass: 0.040 eV (obs: 0.01–0.05 eV)Local dark matter density: 0.0124 M☉ pc⁻³ (obs: 0.0088–0.0132 M☉ pc⁻³)Max neutron star mass: 2.265 M☉ (GR: 2.189 M☉; J0952: 2.35 ± 0.17 M☉)Koide lepton mass ratio Q: 2/3 (theorem; obs: 0.666661, 0.001%)H₀ (CMB): 67.36 km/s/Mpc (obs: 67.36, <0.01%)H₀ (local): 72.84 km/s/Mpc (obs: 73.04, 0.27%) Methodology The superfluid identification is made by proof of elimination over five candidate vacuum structures (empty space, regular fluid, elastic solid, scalar superfluid, vector superfluid). The first four are ruled out by existing observations; the fifth passes all constraints. The condensate self-consistency equations then determine the electroweak scale, confinement, and fermion sector without additional inputs. All loop coefficients (b₁ = 3/(16π²) from Coleman–Weinberg 1973; c₂ from the Davydychev–Tausk sunset integral; the graviton loop factor 5/(4π) from Christensen–Duff 1980) are taken from published calculations and applied without adjustment. Testable predictions The modified TOV equation predicts Mmax = 2.265 M☉ for an APR4-like EOS, compared to 2.189 M☉ in GR. This is testable against the NICER mass–radius catalogue and PSR J0952–0607 (Romani et al. 2022). The mass shift of +0.076 M☉ occurs with only ~+0.05 km radius change at peak density — a signature distinguishable from a simple EOS stiffening. Note: This is an unreviewed preprint. The central theoretical claims — in particular the derivation of b₁ as the gravitational running coefficient and the three-loop derivation of α — require independent scrutiny.