A comprehensive description in all dimensions is provided for the scaling exponent y of low-energy excitations in the Ising spin glass introduced by Edwards and Anderson. A combination of extensive numerical as well as theoretical results suggest that its lower critical dimension is exactly d l = 5/2. Such a result would be an essential feature of any complete model of low-temperature spin glass order and imposes a constraint that may help to distinguish between theories.PACS numbers: 05.50.+q , 75.10.Nr , 02.60.Pn Imagining physical systems in non-integer dimensions, such as through an ǫ-expansion near the upper [1] or lower critical dimension [2], has provided many important results for the understanding of the physics in realistic dimensions. Often, peculiarities found in unphysical dimensions may impact real-world physics and enhance our understanding [3]. Here, we will explore the variation in dimension of the low-temperature behavior in the Edwards-Anderson (EA) spin glass model [4].A quantity of fundamental importance for the modeling of amorphous magnetic materials through spin glasses [5] is the "stiffness" exponent y [6,7]. As Hooke's law describes the response in increasing elastic energy imparted to a system for increasing displacement L from its equilibrium position, the stiffness of a spin configuration describes the typical rise in magnetic energy ∆E due to an induced defect-interface of size L. But unlike uniform systems with a convex potential energy function over its configuration space (say, a parabola for the sole variable in Hooke's law), an amorphous many-body system exhibits a function more reminiscent of a highdimensional mountain landscape [8]. Any defect-induced displacement of size L in such a complicated energy landscape may move a system through many ups-and-downs in energy ∆E. Averaging over many incarnations of such a system results in a typical energy scaleThe importance of this exponent for small excitations in disordered spin systems has been discussed in many contexts [5,6,7,9,10,11,12]. Spin systems with y > 0 provide resistance ("stiffness") against the spontaneous formation of defects at sufficiently low temperatures T ; an indication that a phase transition T c > 0 to an ordered state exists. For instance, in an Ising ferromagnet, the energy ∆E is always proportional to the size of the interface, i. e. y = d − 1, consistent with the fact that T c > 0 only when d > 1. When y ≤ 0, a system is unstable (such as the d = 1 ferromagnet) to spontaneous fluctuations which proliferate, preventing any ordered state. Thus, determining the "lower critical dimension" d l , where y d l = 0, is of significant importance [6,13,14,15], and understanding the mechanism leading to d l , however un-natural, provides definite clues to the origin of order [2]. For instance, in homogeneous systems with a continuous symmetry [16], such as the Heisenberg ferromagnet, the possibility of "soft modes" (Goldstone bosons) perpendicular to the direction of magnetization have proved to weaken order furt...