TITLE:
The Strong Coupling Constant α s : Standard QCD, Running, and a Vacuum-Hydrodynamic Hypothesis for Its Origin and Relation to G
AUTHORS:
Nader Butto
KEYWORDS:
Strong Coupling Constant, Quantum Chromodynamics, Asymptotic Freedom, Gravitational Constant, Vacuum Drag, Vortex Model, Dimensional Transmutation, Confinement
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of High Energy Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology,
Vol.12 No.3,
July
23,
2026
ABSTRACT: The strong coupling constant
α
s
is a fundamental parameter of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), governing the interaction strength between quarks and gluons and the transition between asymptotic freedom and confinement. In standard QCD,
α
s
is defined as the renormalized SU(3) gauge coupling, fixed at a reference scale and evolved through the renormalization group. The current Particle Data Group benchmark value is
α
s
(
m
Z
)=0.1180±0.0009
, where
m
Z
denotes the Z-boson mass scale. This value is an experimentally calibrated normalization of a running coupling, not a number derived from more fundamental constants within orthodox QCD. This work examines a non-standard vacuum-based framework in which the physical vacuum is modeled as a structured medium and elementary particles are treated as vortex-like configurations. The central claim is that the effective drag coefficient
C
D
is not obtained from QCD and is not fitted from
α
s
. Rather,
C
D
is first derived from a hydrodynamic vacuum-resistance relation. Using the vacuum-density scale
ρ
vac
=9.51×
10
−27
kg⋅
m
−3
and a pressure-normalized gravitational vacuum-resistance scale
P
G
=6.67430×
10
−11
N⋅
m
−2
, the model gives
C
D
=
2
P
G
ρ
vac
c
2
=0.15618≃0.156.
. Only after this hydrodynamic coefficient has been obtained is it compared with the QCD color-weighted benchmark coupling. The correspondence
C
D
≃
4
3
α
s
(
m
Z
)
then implies
α
s
model
(
m
Z
)≃
3
4
C
D
=0.11713,
which lies close to the PDG benchmark value. Conversely, using
α
s
(
m
Z
)=0.1180
gives
ρ
vac
=9.44×
10
−27
kg⋅
m
−3
, differing by less than one percent from the assumed vacuum-density scale. These results do not constitute a derivation within standard QCD. They define a testable hypothesis in which confinement and gravitation are interpreted as different regimes of a common structured-vacuum dynamics. The main significance of the approach is to reinterpret the strong coupling benchmark as the color-channel projection of an independently obtained vacuum-resistance coefficient, while clearly identifying the theoretical requirements needed for the model to become a complete physical theory: dimensional derivation of the
G
-to-pressure mapping, derivation of the QCD running behavior, and quantitative comparison with lattice QCD observables.