Vacuum Field Theory as a Two-Channel Response Programme: Null Model, Empirical Proxy Hierarchy, and Open Covariant Completions

We present a programmatic synthesis of a com- panion series of preprints developing Vacuum Field Theory (VFT), a conformally coupled scalar–tensor framework that replaces dark-matter halos with a baryonically sourced response field. Rather than treating the individual papers as independent mod- els, we organise them into a single two-channel re- sponse hierarchy governed by a master equation with a controlled null-model limit. The minimal conformal class (ϵ = 0, monopole-only source, no gravitational slip) serves as the strict baseline; de- partures are parameterised by an environment gate αeff(E) and a non-monopolar structure functional ϵQ[ρ; M]. A cross-paper empirical audit on the SPARC rotation-curve database identifies the damping-like proxy Donly as the strongest currently available op- erational predictor of the tension subset that the universal null model cannot fit (AUC = 0.855). The previously emphasised upper-tail Weg-3 statistic q90 carries no significant signal; the lower-order statis- tic q50 is suggestive but absorbed once Donly is in- cluded. The current implementation of the Chae- based environment proxy ˜ eis weak on the available overlap sample. We document a rejected covariant shortcut (na¨ıve CµνρσCµνρσ coupling does not isolate asphericity) and outline two surviving candidate directions for a fundamental completion of the non-monopolar channel. The synthesis connects to a clock-based falsification programme via the extended state vari- able S = (Sint,Sext), where Sint is broadened from a pure acceleration axis to include morphological ex- citability.