Cellulation-Independent Boundary Gauge Averaging and Sharp Class-Sector Gaps in Two-Dimensional Yang--Mills
Let G be a compact connected Lie group with a bi-invariant metric. For the two-dimensional heat-kernel Yang--Mills model, this paper gives an explicit finite chain from a boundary-conditioned edge integral on an arbitrary regular annular cellulation to the gauge-invariant class-function transfer kernel. Conditional Haar coordinates make the boundary constraints and boundary-edge subdivision precise. Edge and face subdivision invariance, an explicit PL radial-cut construction, and a primal-tree/dual-cotree disk-elimination schedule yield a cellulation-independent orbital heat-kernel integral. Peter--Weyl theory then diagonalizes the transfer operator with multipliers exp(-t c_lambda). The exact mean-zero norm is exp(-t c_*(G)), the gap of I-T_t is 1-exp(-t c_*(G)), and the equality sector consists of all irreducible characters with minimum positive Casimir. In the stated SU(2) normalization the sharp exponent is 3/4, while the induced SO(3) quotient removes the fundamental channel and raises it to 2. The work assembles and audits classical two-dimensional Yang--Mills ingredients; it does not claim a new character solution, four-dimensional mass gap, continuum reconstruction, or clustering for arbitrary bulk observables.