The bulb map
One receptor → one glomerulus is a bijection, so the combinatorial capacity 2N = 128 is carried intact into a spatial odour map. The organisers emerge as R19 Organs in spinodal(γ) order (EBF1 → EMX2 → LHX2). Which glomerulus a receptor targets is axon-guidance chemistry — a named [O].
The 3 OSN organisers emerge as R19 Organs in spinodal(γ) order (EBF1 → EMX2 → LHX2); one-OR→one-glomerulus convergence is a bijection, preserving capacity 2N = 128 as a spatial map. The targeting coordinate is a named [O].
The map's developmental order is forced by measured γ
Smell's substitute for a spatial image is the bulb map: axons of the same receptor converge onto specific glomeruli, turning the receptor-space code into a spatial odour map. The organisers that lay it down (the OSN-identity transcription factors) emerge as R19 Organs in spinodal(γ) order.
| organiser | order | γ | h* = spinodal | dwell ∝ γ1.5 | role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBF1 | 1 | 1.4097 | 0.64423 | 1.52159 | OSN differentiation (early B-cell factor) |
| EMX2 | 2 | 1.4574 | 0.67720 | 1.59947 | OR expression regulation |
| LHX2 | 3 | 1.5172 | 0.71930 | 1.69891 | OSN differentiation / OR gene choice |
The emergence order is EBF1 → EMX2 → LHX2 — monotone in measured γ. Each Organ is absent below 0.9·h* and present above 1.1·h*: an intact downstream pathway with the master switch off still yields absence, a real organ rather than parts.
Convergence is a bijection — it preserves the capacity 2N
One OR → one glomerulus is an injective relabelling of the 7 receptor channels onto 7 bulb positions. A bijection on N channels induces a bijection on their 2N subsets, so the combinatorial capacity is carried into bulb space intact: 2N = 128 distinct spatial images.
Because a bijection preserves chains, the receptor-space nested thermometer maps to a nested spatial thermometer — 4 patterns, glomeruli lighting in the same order. The map inherits the code's order and capacity from the frozen switch and measured γ.
The honest [O] — the targeting coordinate is not in γ
The substrate fixes the map's order and capacity, but not which physical glomerulus a given receptor targets. That coordinate is axon-guidance chemistry — the receptor's own signalling shaping a Neuropilin-1/Sema3A gradient — in its coding sequence, not its promoter γ. This is the same kind of molecular [O] as the odorant key: structure is substrate-derived, specificity is not.