Soliton Collisions in a Sextic Q-Ball Model: Pair Dynamics at Finite Separation and a Withdrawn Capture Claim

For conjugate (oppositely charged) pairs of sextic Q-balls in flat space, the binding energy B(d) = 2E_single − E_pair(d) forms a well at finite separation: at internal frequency ω = 0.85, B rises from −4.789 at d = 6 to a maximum of +21.169 at d = 7 and decays smoothly to +0.577 at d = 14. The well's minimum is not a fixed bond length: at ω = 0.90 the maximum (+18.297) sits at d = 5, and the plateau centre migrates from d = 7.25 (ω = 0.85) to d = 5.25 (ω = 0.90), with neither d/R_rms (2.051 → 1.603) nor d/r_half (1.876 → 1.772) constant — a universal fixed separation is excluded on this record. Dynamically, pairs released in three registered configurations (head-on overlap, at the well minimum, and at near-free separation) all remain in sustained breathing oscillation at T = 200 and match no registered fate class; every leg is UNCLEAR, with the control leg's failure formally closing the set as UNCLEAR (CONTROL). In the same-sign sector, statics at d = 7 show a repulsive excess (+125.41), yet pairs released at rest fall together and merge at every release distance tested. An earlier capture verdict for that sector is withdrawn in this paper: a field-level diagnostic showed the "captured pair" was a single flat-topped merged core misread by a slot tracker. No capture claim survives.