Jenny Lorraine Nielsen
Update: Preliminary observational test of the (z, θ) prediction
Following the prediction posted above — that deviation from λ = 1 should concentrate near z_phase ≈ 0.45 and carry θ dependence from the CMB dipole axis — I performed a (z, θ) binned analysis of the Pantheon+SH0ES Type Ia supernova dataset (1,590 SNe).
At z ∈ [0.35, 0.55), a directional gradient appears: supernovae toward the CMB dipole are slightly brighter, and away from it slightly fainter. The total change over 180° is 0.097 mag (5% in distance). Isotropic ΛCDM predicts zero gradient.
The signal is indicative, not conclusive — per-bin samples are small (6–66 SNe), and systematics have not been fully characterized. But the direction is consistent with the vortex-return prediction, and no prior analysis has applied this specific (z, θ) binning to Pantheon+.
Full analysis, code, and figures are available with DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21380438
Confirmation will require larger datasets — the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (launching August 30, 2026) should provide the necessary coverage.
@Jenny Lorraine Nielsen — this may be relevant to your work. The coupled z–θ structure is what distinguishes vortex return from both ΛCDM and smooth dark energy models.
