Plain-language glossary

Interior Observer (IO)

An observer described from inside the gravitational system being studied. In the black-hole-universe branches, this means asking what an observer inside could measure without borrowing an external observer’s clock or coordinates.

Exterior Observer (EO)

A hypothetical observer outside the system being modeled. IO and EO descriptions may use different clocks or coordinates, so translating between them requires an explicit map.

Branch

One clearly declared model class tested by the program. A branch keeps its own geometry, assumptions, clocks, and readout rules. The three live branches have equal scientific standing.

Bound universe

A universe modeled with a finite global enclosure or gravitationally bounded structure. “Bound” does not automatically mean spherical, nonrotating, or selected by evidence.

Unbounded or Infinite universe

A universe whose global spatial extent or development is not enclosed in the bound-model sense. “Infinite” names the program’s unbound branch; it is not automatically standard cosmology or a guaranteed fit to observations.

Schwarzschild branch

The bound branch based on a nonrotating black-hole geometry, including guarded Oppenheimer–Snyder controls where stated. It is one model on the bound side.

Kerr branch

The bound branch based on a rotating black-hole geometry. Kerr’s local geometry can be mathematically exact without proving that the entire universe is globally Kerr.

Infinite branch

The live unbound comparison branch. A local unbounded spacetime is not silently treated as a complete expanding cosmology; the host and observer dictionary must be stated.

Compatibility

Whether a scientific result can legally apply within a branch’s assumptions. Compatibility is not evidential support. A result may be compatible with all three branches.

Evidence direction or lean

A separate, cautious judgment about whether an evidence item points toward bound, unbound, neither, or remains unclear. A lean is normally modest and is not a final conclusion.

Selector

A result that would uniquely determine which branch describes the universe. The program currently has no known selector and does not treat selector hunting as its primary objective.

Guard

An assumption or domain limit that says exactly where a result is valid—for example, “local Kerr horizon,” “positive frequency,” or “before shell crossing.” Removing a guard can invalidate the claim.

UNTESTED / not yet tested

A named compatibility check whose required proof or construction is still missing. It is visible research debt. It never means “incompatible.”

Context or diagnostic

A useful comparison that helps interpret a problem but is not allowed to carry a theorem, prediction, or directional evidence claim on its own.

Current reviewed result

A result that has passed the lab’s review with its assumptions, model compatibility, evidence assessment, GR–QM check, and source identity stated. This website summarizes those findings; some working records do not have a separate public proof page.

Archive

Preserved papers, releases, code, data, and historical summaries. Archive material keeps its original framing and status; continued availability does not make it part of the current evidence aggregate.

GR–QM check

The always-running check of how general relativity (gravity and spacetime) connects to quantum mechanics or quantum fields in each result. “Not relevant,” “locally blocked,” and “not yet tested” can all be honest outcomes.

MOTS

Short for marginally outer trapped surface: a closed surface where outward-directed light rays are momentarily neither expanding nor contracting. It can diagnose local strong gravity, but it is not automatically a global event horizon.

Observer readout

The explicit rule that turns a theoretical object—such as curvature, a field state, or a horizon quantity—into something an observer could measure. A prediction is incomplete if this map is missing.

Still unsure? Ask IO in ordinary language or join the public discussion.