The Known Physics Hierarchy: Regime Structure and Coupling Constraints

"Working preprint. This paper presents a systematic empirical consistency analysis of the known physical hierarchy using a logarithmic scale ladder." Abstract We apply a logarithmic scale decomposition to 68 known physical oscillations and phenomena spanning from the Planck scale (10⁻³⁵ m) to the cosmic horizon (10²⁸ m). Placing these phenomena on a log-spaced ladder with 22 rungs and a factor of 10³ between adjacent rungs, we ask three questions: (1) Is the frequency-to-scale assignment physically motivated? (2) Do cross-rung coupling spans show structural regularity? (3) Is the 10³ spacing well-chosen, or would 10² or 10⁴ work as well? We find: (1) the catalogue divides into two dynamical regimes at the atomic scale (∼10⁻¹⁰ m) — at smaller scales, characteristic frequencies follow f ≈ c/λ to within ±0.5 orders; at larger scales, frequencies are set by quantum energy gaps and depart from c/λ by up to 9.5 orders; (2) coupling spans form a three-tier hierarchy: local phenomena (≤3 rungs, 66%), quantum-coherent nonlocal phenomena (4–6 rungs, 29%), and extended phenomena (≥7 rungs, 4%); (3) at 10⁴ spacing, quantum-nonlocal phenomena collapse to the same coupling class as locally-confined oscillations — erasing a physically real distinction; at 10², half the rungs are empty and bulk material phenomena inflate to physically unwarranted global scale. The 10³ spacing is the minimum that preserves the three-tier coupling hierarchy. (4) The layer map reveals a seven-block structural axis with two qualitatively distinct types of regime transition: mechanism shifts, where the dominant frequency-setting principle changes (L8/L9), and organisational transitions, where a new causal hierarchy emerges (L10–L12, the molecular-life bifurcation). Five rungs in the pre-electroweak regime (L2–L6) are structurally empty — a recognised frontier of fundamental physics made explicit by the ladder framework. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5888-8896 Email: [email protected] Funding: No funding was received. You can support this work at https://buymeacoffee.com/tpu_institute