The Spin-7 Lattice Model: Phase Transitions and Statistical Mechanics of the GTE Polynomial
Nova Spivack
Abstract
Programme status: This record belongs to an active research programme. It is not a finished or final theory. The framework is currently undergoing a systematic audit, together with corrections and improvements prompted by reader feedback. Several significant issues have been identified, and some claims, derivations and interpretations in the current version may be revised, qualified or withdrawn in future versions. Revised versions will be released when this work is complete. See PROGRAM_STATUS.md. Status as of October 2026. The polynomial p(L,C,R) = C + R - CR - LCR over F_7, derived as the unique MDL-minimal substrate encoding the Standard Model from first principles, defines a natural statistical mechanics system: a 7-state nearest-neighbor spin model with three-body interactions. We analyze this spin-7 model in one and two spatial dimensions. In 1D, the exact transfer matrix acts on pair states (s_i-1, s_i); its Perron eigenvalue at = 1 is _1 = 1.4846, the correlation length grows from 2.9 sites at = 1 to 15.0 at = 2 and diverges as , and the local zero-energy windows number 43 = _6(7) (consistent with the Cyclotomic Point Count Theorem). The global zero-energy rings are exactly the three uniform configurations \0^n, 1^n, 5^n\ at every ring length n 3 - an exact threefold ground-space degeneracy, machine-certified in Lean 4 - so the ground space realizes the ternary repetition code of length n and distance n. In 2D, Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations on L L tori (L = 4-16) reveal a phase transition at _c 0.35 (T_c 2.86\,J) with Z_3-like symmetry breaking among three degenerate global ground states: the uniform configurations \0, 1, 5\, algebraically characterized as the roots of p(x,x,x) = -x(x-1)(x-5) 7. A secondary feature at _c,2 1.7 exhibits strong hysteresis consistent with domain-wall locking. The zero-temperature support of the 1D transfer matrix is the deterministic pair-state digraph of the CMCA vacuum sector, and the thermodynamic entropy rate S_CMCA() = _1() interpolates from 7 = 1.946 nats at infinite temperature through 0.395 nats per site per update at = 1 to 0 at zero temperature, where only the three rigid ground states survive. The three ground-state sectors \0, 1, 5\ map to the color charge sectors of the Standard Model, and the NL identity NL(p) = 1 - c_H/7^2 connects the polynomial's cryptographic nonlinearity to the Higgs branch capacity c_H = 13. A minimal experimental realization using 7-level Rydberg atoms in optical tweezer arrays is proposed.