Resonance Complexity Theory and the Architecture of Consciousness: A Field-Theoretic Model of Resonant Interference and Emergent Awareness
arXiv Preprint Archive May 26, 2025 Michael Arnold Bruna
Consciousness may emerge from stable interference patterns of oscillatory neural activity, according to Resonance Complexity Theory (RCT). These patterns, shaped by recursive feedback and constructive interference, must exceed critical thresholds in complexity, coherence, gain, and fractal dimensionality to give rise to conscious experience. A composite metric called the Complexity Index (CI) synthesizes fractal dimensionality, signal gain, spatial coherence, and attractor dwell time. A minimal neural field simulation of radial wave sources in 2D space produced coherent, attractor-like excitation patterns without external input or imposed structure, meeting the theoretical thresholds for CI. The findings demonstrate that resonance-based attractors can arise purely from wave interference physics, offering a framework for modeling awareness as an emergent property of organized complexity.