Paper 44: Revisiting Michelson–Morley: Coherence, Rotation, and the Hidden Structure of Spacetime

This paper examines whether Michelson–Morley–class null results can arise from a minimal discrete lattice model without assuming Lorentz invariance as a starting postulate. We model a structured substrate as an isotropic cubic lattice carrying rotational phase degrees of freedom governed by nearest-neighbor coupling. In the long-wavelength limit, the discrete update rule reduces to an isotropic wave equation with characteristic speed vc=κa2/Iv_c = \sqrt{\kappa a^2 / I}vc=κa2/I. In this regime, round-trip interferometric observables are orientation-independent at leading order, reproducing Michelson–Morley isotropy as a consequence of rotational symmetry of the continuum dispersion relation. Higher-order lattice corrections introduce anisotropy that scales as (ka)2(ka)^2(ka)2, consistent with dispersion-level deviations. Modern rotating optical-cavity experiments strongly constrain such higher-order terms. A deterministic lock-in numerical proxy is implemented to test the microdynamic claims. The simulation confirms (i) vanishing cos(2φ) modulation in the isotropic baseline, (ii) linear emergence of quadrupolar anisotropy when higher-order operators are introduced, and (iii) suppression of anisotropy response at lower drive frequency, consistent with long-wavelength expectations. The analysis does not model full electromagnetic vector dynamics. Instead, it identifies minimal microdynamic sufficiency conditions under which Michelson–Morley–class isotropy emerges from an isotropic discrete coherence lattice, and delineates the regime in which higher-order corrections could produce measurable departures.