Author: Matthew Lukin Smawfield
Version: v0.2 (Kos)
Date: 13 March 2026 (first release) – 22 March 2026 (last updated)
Status: Preprint (Open for Collaboration)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19000827
Website: https://mlsmawfield.com/tep/jwst/
Paper Series: TEP Series: Paper 13 (High-Redshift Anomalies)
JWST has revealed a set of high-redshift anomalies that appear disparate in detail but share a common structure: star formation efficiencies exceeding LambdaCDM limits, overmassive black holes, and anomalous stellar-to-dynamical mass ratios all appear preferentially in the deepest gravitational potentials. This repository tests whether that common pattern can arise from a single violation of the isochrony axiom. In the Temporal Equivalence Principle (TEP), a chameleon-screened scalar-tensor theory, proper time depends on environment in unscreened halos. Using the external Cepheid prior alpha_0 = 0.58 +/- 0.16 with no JWST retuning, the framework fully resolves the Red Monster efficiency excess and provides a physical route to differential black-hole growth in Little Red Dots.
The empirical program is organized around two primary empirical lines, one ancillary spatial line, one derived regime-level line, and one direct kinematic decisive test:
| Evidence branch | Test | Sample | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1. Primary empirical line | Dust-Gamma_t relation and AGB threshold behavior | Multi-survey high-z photometric catalogs | Primary large-sample empirical line |
| L2. Ancillary spatial evidence | Resolved core screening and morphology controls | JADES resolved and direct-mass morphology branches | Ancillary |
| L3. Primary empirical line | Mass-sSFR inversion across redshift | UNCOVER, CEERS, COSMOS-Web/COSMOS2025 | Second primary empirical line |
| L4. Derived regime-level evidence | Dynamical-mass consistency under TEP mapping | Literature kinematic compilations and regime-level checks | Derived |
| L5. Direct kinematic decisive test | Spectral age versus Gamma_t from M_dyn, compared directly against photometric M_* under matched controls | JWST-SUSPENSE quiescent galaxies | Strongest direct test of mass circularity |
The strongest current direct test is a kinematic comparison using the JWST-SUSPENSE survey of massive quiescent galaxies at z = 1.2-2.3 (L5; N = 15). A fundamental vulnerability of evaluating TEP photometrically is mass-proxy circularity, as Gamma_t depends on the gravitational potential. By employing dynamically measured masses (M_dyn) from stellar velocity dispersions and spectral ages derived from absorption features, the SUSPENSE analysis tests a dynamical-potential predictor and photometric stellar mass side by side. The central comparison shows that Gamma_t predicts spectral age more strongly than stellar mass, yielding rho(Age, Gamma_t | z) = +0.733 (p = 0.0019) compared to rho(Age, M_* | z) = +0.493 (p = 0.062). Under joint control of the competing predictor and redshift, Gamma_t retains a residual association with age, rho(Age, Gamma_t | M_, z) = +0.624 (p = 0.0129), whereas stellar mass contributes no residual signal once Gamma_t is controlled, rho(Age, M_ | Gamma_t, z) = -0.036 (p = 0.898). Propagating the published asymmetric uncertainties for all 15 galaxies preserves a positive Gamma_t residual in 99.7% of Monte Carlo draws. This one-sided residual structure supports the interpretation that galaxy evolution scales more closely with gravitational potential depth than with baryonic mass alone, and it materially narrows the photometric circularity objection.
TEP-JWST/
├── data/ # Raw and interim catalogs
├── logs/ # Step execution logs
├── manuscripts/ # Archived manuscript snapshots
├── results/
│ ├── outputs/ # JSON/CSV analytical outputs
│ └── figures/ # Generated figures
├── scripts/
│ ├── steps/ # Canonical stepwise pipeline
│ └── utils/ # Shared analysis utilities
├── site/
│ ├── components/ # Source of truth for manuscript text
│ └── dist/ # Built site artifacts
├── 13manuscript-tep-jwst.md # Generated manuscript markdown
└── README.md
git clone https://github.com/matthewsmawfield/TEP-JWST.git
cd TEP-JWST
pip install -r requirements.txt
npm install --prefix sitepython scripts/steps/run_all_steps.pyPrimary data families include:
- JWST high-z photometric and spectroscopic catalogs (UNCOVER, JADES, CEERS, COSMOS-Web/COSMOS2025).
- FRESCO Red Monsters and related high-z massive-galaxy compilations.
- Literature kinematic samples used for dynamical-mass anchoring.
- Standard cosmology references (for consistency and guardrail checks).
See data/DATA_PROVENANCE.md for acquisition details and provenance notes.
@article{smawfield2026jwst,
title={The Temporal Equivalence Principle: A Unified Resolution to the JWST High-Redshift Anomalies},
author={Smawfield, Matthew Lukin},
journal={Zenodo},
year={2026},
doi={10.5281/zenodo.19000827},
note={Preprint v0.2 (Kos)}
}Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0).
This is an open research preprint repository. Manuscript sources, pipeline code, and derived outputs are provided to support transparent inspection and independent reproduction.
Email: matthewsmawfield@gmail.com
ORCID: 0009-0003-8219-3159