The Physical Origin of the Fine-Structure Constant: A Constraint Network Derivation

The fine-structure constant α ≈ 1/137 is treated in the Standard Model of particle physics as the coupling constant of the electromagnetic interaction, and is regarded as a fundamental input parameter whose origin is not questioned by the theory. This paper demonstrates that α can be derived directly from two energy scales independently established within Energy Ontology: the electron rest energy 0.511 MeV (the constraint release share, independently derived from stable nuclide data in a preceding paper) and the Rydberg energy 13.6 eV (the constraint gap energy required for an M≈0.5 oscillation-state electron to escape the constraint overflow of the proton). The defining relation α² = 2R_y/(m_e c²) yields α = 1/137.035999, with a relative deviation from the CODATA 2022 recommended value of less than 3 × 10⁻⁹. In Energy Ontology, α is not a fundamental constant but a geometric factor—the square root of the ratio of the constraint gap energy to the total undertaken energy. Its value requires no definition of the elementary charge, vacuum permittivity, or Planck's constant. This result, together with the independent derivations of the electron rest energy, the proton mass, and the neutron-proton mass difference, points to a systematic conclusion: the core entries in the table of fundamental constants are not original settings of the universe, but derivable outcomes of deeper physical processes.