Paper 58: The Holosphere Angular Modulation Model: Correct 1/z Normalization Resolves Galaxy Size Trends Without Expansion or Turnover
Here is a clean plain-text abstract followed by keywords, aligned with your structure and claims. Plain Text Abstract This paper revisits the galaxy size–redshift relation using a normalization that removes the simple geometric 1/z effect. We analyze the composite observable Φ = z·θ, which should be flat if galaxy angular sizes follow the baseline inverse-redshift scaling without additional structure. Using a large ASTRODEEP/JWST sample (487,641 galaxies, 0.1 ≤ z ≤ 9), we construct binned medians with robust uncertainty estimates and compare three anchored model shapes: a constant-θ line, an empirical power law, and the ΛCDM angular-diameter distance prediction. After anchoring all models at the same redshift bin to ensure equal-complexity comparison, the JWST medians are well described by a near-linear Φ relation (Φ ∝ z^1.0601), corresponding to an approximately constant angular scale θ(z) to first order. The anchored ΛCDM turnover shape provides a substantially poorer fit across the observed range. A matched control analysis using CANDELS/GOODS-S (HST) over 0.5 ≤ z ≤ 3.0 yields a similar near-linear Φ trend, though with a shallower slope consistent with instrument and measurement-surface effects. Extensive robustness checks—including alternate binning, trimming, size definitions, and signal-to-noise cuts—do not change the qualitative conclusion. Across instruments and metrics, the median size trend shows no evidence for the expected ΛCDM angular-diameter turnover within the current redshift frontier. The Φ-normalization provides a model-agnostic way to evaluate residual size evolution and geometric scaling in deep surveys.
Publication Details
- Journal
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Published
- 2026-02-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15688517
- Primary Topic
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00