A Finite Relaxation Timescale for Mass–Gas Offsets in Dissociative Galaxy Cluster Mergers

This paper presents an empirical analysis of mass–gas offsets in dissociative galaxy cluster mergers using a uniform system-level separation observable and interval-sampled merger ages. The results are consistent with a finite relaxation timescale of order 10^8 years. This work is intended as an observational and phenomenological complement to Viscoelastic General Relativity (VGR) v2 and does not depend on accepting the underlying theoretical framework.