Chapter 5: The Photon as Null Transport

Before the neutron decays, we need the mode that will carry its electromagnetic information away. The photon is not a “particle of light”—it is a null transport mode for U(1) phase on τ³. It has zero mass, zero T² breathing amplitude, and travels at speed c because it is pure boundary-character propagation with no bulk defect structure. Its existence is a prerequisite for everything that follows.