Paper 51: QCD from Coherence: Virtual Strain Packets and Pion Mediation of the Strong Force in the Holosphere Lattice

This paper presents a mechanical reinterpretation of strong-interaction phenomena within the Holosphere framework. Instead of modeling the strong force through continuous gauge fields, the theory describes it as discrete angular strain transfer within a rotating lattice of hadronic-scale Holospheres. In this picture, localized distortions of rotational phase—termed strain packets—propagate between structured triplet defect systems and mediate what corresponds phenomenologically to gluon exchange. Color charge is interpreted as the active role among three orthogonal orbital rings surrounding each defect, and color exchange corresponds to controlled switching of these active channels under geometric coherence constraints. Confinement is understood as a limitation on sustained angular strain propagation within the lattice rather than as a field-theoretic self-interaction effect. At the nuclear scale, sustained cyclic strain exchange between neighboring triplets can form bounded oscillatory modes. These resonances are identified with pion-like behavior and provide a finite-range interaction channel. Using a discrete angular action model with nearest-neighbor coupling, an energy scaling relation is derived that produces the observed pion mass scale for physically reasonable lattice parameters. The aim of this work is not to replace the empirical structure of quantum chromodynamics, but to provide a discrete mechanical substrate that may underlie the same observed strong-interaction phenomena.