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Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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The Eddington Cascade: Deriving the Eddington Luminosity from Feigenbaum Constants and the Staircase Structure of Super-Eddington Accretion

Authors: Randolph, Lucian;

The Eddington Cascade: Deriving the Eddington Luminosity from Feigenbaum Constants and the Staircase Structure of Super-Eddington Accretion

Abstract

We derive the Eddington luminosity per unit mass from the two Feigenbaum constants α = 2.502907875 and δ = 4.669201609, obtaining L_Edd/M = 6Gα⁹δ⁵m_e³c³/ħ² with 0.758% accuracy. The derivation follows directly from the cascade expressions for the proton-to-electron mass ratio (Paper 49) and the electromagnetic coupling constant (Paper 44). The Eddington Limit is identified as a cascade fixed point — the crossing of the gravitational cascade regime (governed by δ) and the electromagnetic cascade regime (governed by α) — structurally identical to the derivation of the speed of light in Paper 54. Super-Eddington accretion is reinterpreted as a cascade overshoot above this fixed point, predicting that observed luminosity excesses must cluster at cascade staircase levels rather than being continuously distributed. We test this prediction against ten well-characterized ultraluminous X-ray (ULX) sources and find all ten within 15% of a cascade staircase level, with a median deviation of 3.65%. Two independent sources (M82 X-2 and NGC 300 ULX1) land on the same cascade level α⁵ within 1.77%. The early universe problem of apparently super-massive black holes growing faster than the classical Eddington limit permits is resolved: the effective Eddington limit is cascade-scale-dependent and was higher at earlier cosmic epochs. Four falsifiable predictions are stated.

Keywords

Universal Cascade Law, neutron star pulsars, Super-Eddington accretion, black hole systems, ultraluminous X-ray sources, Eddington limit, Eddington luminosity, Universal Cascade Theorem, Super-Eddington system

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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