Curvature-Tunable Absorbance in Graphene: A Quarkbase-Cosmology Prediction

Within the framework of Quarkbase Cosmology, electromagnetic propagation arises from longitudinal pressure waves of a frictionless etheric plasma (Ψ-field). In this theory, the universal optical absorbance of monolayer graphene (A ≈ πα ≈ 2.3%) is strictly constant only for flat, unstrained geometries. When biaxial strain or mean curvature is introduced, the local configuration of the Ψ-field is modified, changing the effective coupling α and therefore the absorbance.

The field obeys (∇² − λ⁻²)Ψ = −α Σᵢ δ(x − xᵢ), where each quarkbase is a compact source of pressure displacement. For a curved or strained surface, the coupling becomes geometry-dependent, α(ε) = α₀(1 + κ ε), with ε the local biaxial strain and κ ∼ 10⁻²–10⁻³ a curvature–absorbance coefficient. The predicted optical response is A(ε) = πα₀(1 + κ ε), leading to a relative variation ΔA/A ≃ 10⁻³–10⁻² per % strain.

An experimental test requires only monolayer graphene on flexible substrates or nanobubble domes, with absorbance mapped by micro-ellipsometry (400–800 nm) and curvature measured by AFM. Detecting a slope κ ≈ 10⁻² per % strain is within current instrumental precision. A positive result would provide a direct, falsifiable signature of etheric pressure channels guiding light in graphene; a null result would place an upper bound on κ, constraining the ratio β/ρp of etheric rigidity to pressure density.