We propose Stratified Causal Actualization (SCA), a generative framework in which physical reality is not presupposed as spacetime populated by matter, nor as probabilistic outcomes governed by dynamical laws, but as the irreversible actualization of causally constrained possibility. Beginning from primitive events and a causality relation devoid of geometry, time, or metric structure, we construct an ordinally stratified latent causal space encoding structured potentiality. We show that physics cannot be written directly on this space: realization requires an epistemic projection that discards internal causal structure while preserving distinguishability, yielding a realizability domain Ω. On Ω we derive admissibility, filtration, valuation, and variational actualization, closing the schema (Ω,A,⪯,ρ,TA,W,Φ,JA,D) governing consistent realization. A central result is the identification of a universal causal saturation invariant: the ratio of actual to maximal admissible causal restructuring. This invariant underlies the observed invariance of light propagation without presupposing spacetime geometry or kinematic postulates, and generates causal horizons as structural, rather than geometric, phenomena. Within this framework, time emerges as restriction depth, distance as constraint-mediated reachability, matter as stable restriction cores, and physical law as the fixed-point structure of permissible actualization. General relativity and quantum mechanics arise as complementary representational regimes encoding different projections of the same underlying causal stratification. SCA does not modify existing physical theories; it identifies the landscape from which their core structures necessarily arise.
We propose Stratified Causal Actualization (SCA), a generative framework in which physical reality is not presupposed as spacetime populated by matter, nor as probabilistic outcomes governed by dynamical laws, but as the irreversible actualization of causally constrained possibility. Beginning from primitive events and a causality relation devoid of geometry, time, or metric structure, we construct an ordinally stratified latent causal space encoding structured potentiality. We show that physics cannot be written directly on this space: realization requires an epistemic projection that discards internal causal structure while preserving distinguishability, yielding a realizability domain Ω. On Ω we derive admissibility, filtration, valuation, and variational actualization, closing the schema (Ω,A,⪯,ρ,TA,W,Φ,JA,D) governing consistent realization. A central result is the identification of a universal causal saturation invariant: the ratio of actual to maximal admissible causal restructuring. This invariant underlies the observed invariance of light propagation without presupposing spacetime geometry or kinematic postulates, and generates causal horizons as structural, rather than geometric, phenomena. Within this framework, time emerges as restriction depth, distance as constraint-mediated reachability, matter as stable restriction cores, and physical law as the fixed-point structure of permissible actualization. General relativity and quantum mechanics arise as complementary representational regimes encoding different projections of the same underlying causal stratification. SCA does not modify existing physical theories; it identifies the landscape from which their core structures necessarily arise.
We present a restriction-based reconstruction framework in which physical form is derived from aminimal ontology of admissible restriction on a realizability space. From a restriction filtration and itsnonempty core, we define a cumulative restriction-work functional and an associated information-time.A locality/factorization hypothesis yields an effective action functional, while stabilization of restrictedmeasures separates geometric and contextual representational regimes. In the contextual regime, apresheaf of local Boolean algebras is glued into a global orthomodular event structure supporting aconsistent probability valuation. Under standard regularity conditions, Hilbert-space representation isobtained via classification results for orthomodular lattices, and the associated valuation admits the Bornform. In the geometric regime, covariance and boundary-localization conditions constrain the effectiveaction to the Einstein--Hilbert class. A restriction dynamics operator is introduced via variationalselection, generating an irreversible restriction flow. Extensions for defects, matter, and gauge structureare formulated as programmatic developments within the same core framework. The aim is structuralreconstruction rather than a complete predictive physical theory.
Emergent Reality Architecture: Probability, Gravitation, and Physical Regimes This paper introduces Emergent Reality Architecture (ERA), an ontological and structural framework aimed at clarifying why modern physics contains three persistent puzzles that are typically treated separately: quantum phenomena that resist classical intuition, massless propagation (e.g., light) whose trajectories carry no proper time (null structure), and gravitation that appears as curvature rather than a conventional force. Rather than proposing new equations or modifying established dynamics, ERA examines representational assumptions that are often implicit in contemporary theory—specifically the widespread assumption that spacetime geometry is fundamental and that time admits arbitrarily fine resolution. ERA argues that these assumptions are not directly empirically mandated and that several foundational tensions arise when they are treated as universally valid outside the regimes in which they succeed. At the core of ERA is a constraint–freedom engine in which physical behavior depends on the relationship between imposed constraints and finite representational capacity. Within this framework, probability arises as residual freedom among admissible configurations; determinism corresponds to representational saturation; and emergence is forced when lawful behavior can no longer be coherently represented within a given regime. ERA identifies four representational regimes—configuration (Regime I), distinguishability (Regime II), ordering (Regime III), and metric closure (Regime IV)—each introduced to resolve specific structural failures of the one below it. Quantum phenomena arise naturally in regimes lacking metric closure; massless propagation originates in a regime that supports relational distinction without internal temporal ordering; and gravitation is interpreted as the geometric instantiation of ordering constraints once metric closure is enforced. In this view, stable orbital motion can be understood as the metric-closure encoding of temporal persistence (“temporal rest”) when time-relational stability must be expressed within spacetime. ERA is offered as an explanatory framework, not a competing dynamical theory. Its contribution lies in clarifying why probability, gravitation, and regime-dependent physical behavior—including quantum contextuality, null propagation, and orbital persistence—can be structurally unavoidable features of physical description, while preserving the empirical validity of quantum mechanics and general relativity. Related work: Two complementary conceptual clarifications within standard general relativity are developed separately. Orbits as Inertial States: Rethinking Rest in General Relativity (Zenodo) isolates the distinction between inertial rest (geodesic motion) and spatial fixation (non-geodesic constraint) in curved spacetime. Geodesics as Regimes of Persistence (Zenodo) unpacks how the geodesic classification (timelike/null/spacelike), via the sign of ds², encodes distinct modes of physical realizability—persistence with proper time, persistence without proper time, and geometric relations without physical worldlines. Revision note (5 Feb 2026): Deepened the dark-matter analysis by extending its functional role to galactic scales, clarifying how dark matter halos act as distributed geometric buffers that stabilize increasing ordering demand without particle-level rendering. Integrated supermassive black holes into the same constraint-management framework, describing them as localized rupture boundaries that arise when buffering capacity is exceeded, rather than as independent gravitational anomalies. Provided a unified structural explanation for observed halo–black hole scaling relations, including the M–σ correlation, as necessary outcomes of balanced buffering and rupture within a single representational closure. Clarified that galaxies are treated as coherent representational systems, in which extended dark matter curvature and central singularities jointly delimit the operational bounds of deterministic metric closure. No new forces, particles, or dynamical equations are introduced; all additions remain architectural extensions consistent with general relativity and ΛCDM phenomenology. Correspondence: Peter Nowicki — peternowicki@proton.me
We present a minimal structural framework in which relativistic causality and quantum probability emerge as effective descriptions, without postulating spacetime geometry, dynamical equations, or quantum states as primitives. The framework is based on resolution-dependent representations and an accounting invariant that tracks irreducible loss under coarse-graining. Crucially, we do not propose an alternative formulation of quantum mechanics, but identify minimal structural constraints under which any admissible physical theory must reduce to probabilistic descriptions. We show that locality and closure of admissible updates force causal cone structures and probabilistic state updates. Classical spacetime dynamics, such as General Relativity, can be understood within this framework as selected realizations that satisfy the same admissibility constraints under appropriate resolution regimes. Rather than competing with existing physical models, this theory constrains which models are physically admissible.
Modern theoretical physics rests on two highly successful but conceptually distinct frameworks: quantum mechanics and general relativity. While both theories are experimentally confirmed to high precision within their respective domains, they rely on fundamentally different starting points. General relativity takes spacetime as a primitive geometric structure, whereas quantum mechanics is formulated in terms of abstract state spaces without intrinsic spacetime meaning. Most approaches to quantum gravity attempt to reconcile this tension by modifying, quantizing, or discretizing spacetime itself. Even in approaches where spacetime is said to be “emergent,” it typically remains the primary conceptual backdrop on which physical processes are defined. Despite extensive efforts, there is no consensus on whether spacetime should be regarded as fundamental or derivative. In this work, a more radical starting point is explored. Rather than modifying spacetime or its geometry, we ask whether spacetime can be excluded entirely from the fundamental layer of the theory and recovered only at a later, operational stage. The central question is not how spacetime behaves, but whether the notion of “what lies between physical objects” must be spatial or temporal at the most fundamental level. We propose a framework—referred to here as Super Relativity (SR)—based on a single pre-geometric postulate: the existence of a monotonically expanding set of possible quantum configurations, referred to as the flux. Formally, this flux is represented as a monotone, σ-finite family of capacity measures on a common configuration space (introduced in Section 2). This postulate deliberately refrains from assuming spacetime, time ordering, metric structure, causality, or dynamics. Within this pre-geometric core, two derived, dimensionless notions are introduced: utilization, describing the realization of configurations, and saturation, defined as the ratio between utilized and available configurations. A central structural element of SR is the strict separation between a core layer and an interface layer. In the core layer, all quantities are pre-geometric and dimensionless, and no reference is made to space, time, motion, energy, or interaction. Only at the interface layer are operational notions introduced, including clocks, rulers, and signal propagation. Spacetime, in this construction, is not a dynamical entity but an effective bookkeeping structure that encodes relative rates of change once a calibration to physical units is performed. Within this framework, gravitational phenomena do not originate from spacetime curvature taken as fundamental. Instead, they arise from variations in saturation that, at the interface level, manifest as uniform rescalings of physical processes. When expressed in geometric language, these rescalings reproduce the standard predictions of general relativity, including gravitational time dilation and the equivalence between gravitation and acceleration. The invariant local speed of light is not postulated but follows as a derived consequence, since both clock rates and signal propagation are affected identically by the same underlying saturation mechanism. The aim of this paper is not to introduce new empirical predictions beyond those of general relativity, nor to present a complete theory of quantum gravity. Rather, the objective is foundational: to demonstrate that the mathematical structure of general relativity can be reconstructed from a single pre-geometric postulate without assuming spacetime as part of the fundamental ontology. In this sense, SR should be understood as a reconstruction and reinterpretation of known physics, rather than as a competing dynamical theory. An extended and fully explicit formulation of the framework, including all intermediate steps, is available in a companion preprint (version V12) deposited on Zenodo. The present paper restricts itself to the minimal conceptual and mathematical structure required to establish logical consistency and to demonstrate the emergence of general-relativistic behavior at the interface level.
This paper develops a unified ontological framework in which quantum indeterminacy, classical determinism, and gravitational structure are interpreted not as manifestations of distinct fundamental laws, but as regime-dependent consequences of a single physical constraint: finite propagation at the invariant speed c. We argue that the transition from reversible physical possibility to irreversible physical fact is regulated by the finite rate at which interaction outcomes can propagate, accumulate, and stabilize. Irreversibility is tied explicitly to entropy-producing interactions subject to causal delay, grounding the framework in nonequilibrium thermodynamics rather than measurement postulates. We introduce a phenomenological order parameter, commitment density (ρcommit), defined as the locally accumulated history of irreversible constraint formation under finite propagation. Distinct physical regimes arise when this quantity crosses a critical percolation threshold (ρc), yielding three ontological domains: quantum under-representation (ρcommit ≪ ρc, insufficient closure), classical balance (ρcommit~ρc, writable yet stable), and cosmological over-representation (ρcommit ≫ ρc, saturated and non-writable). Key terms are defined in the main text. This regime structure provides a unified reinterpretation of quantum measurement, classical determinism, and horizon formation. Event horizons are generalized as the observational signature of causal saturation, appearing wherever accumulated closure renders regions non-writable. Time emerges from cyclic but asymmetric closure processes whose accumulated bias produces temporal direction. The framework makes specific falsifiable predictions: commitment should be gradual and resolvable in time-resolved decoherence experiments; gravitational-wave memory should be detectable as permanent relational displacement; and the quantum-classical boundary should depend on commitment density rather than mass or scale alone. Four explicit conditions that would falsify the framework are specified in Appendix A.
Relational Actualism (RA) is a foundational framework in which on-shell actualization events — irreversible physical interactions satisfying ΔS(ρ‖σ₀) > 0 that write permanent vertices into a growing causal Directed Acyclic Graph — are taken as the primitive constituents of physical reality. From this single ontological commitment, with no new fields or free parameters, the framework derives the results of Papers 1–3 and unifies quantum mechanics, general relativity, and emergent complexity under one algorithm. The Engine of Becoming is a five-step Covariant Stochastic Graph Rewriting System. Step 1 identifies the causal frontier ∂G. Step 2 assigns quantum amplitudes to all possible extensions via Sorkin's foliation-independent quantum measure. Step 3 filters candidates by the entropy criterion ΔS > 0 — a Lorentz scalar, formally verified as frame-independent in Lean 4. Step 4 selects actualizing events with probability given by the quantum measure, yielding the Born rule without postulate. Step 5 recomputes the effective metric from the actualization density λ(x) via Gᵤᵥ = 8πG(Tᵤᵥ^(A) + Θᵤᵥ^(λ)), where Θᵤᵥ^(λ) = ξ[∇ᵤ∇ᵥ(ln λ) − gᵤᵥ□(ln λ)]. Quantum mechanics is the Level-2 (slowly varying λ) limit. General relativity is the Level-3 (dense graph) limit. The Einstein equations with Λ = 0 are the unique macroscopic output, established by the Local Ledger Condition (Lean-verified), the BDG action as the unique discrete Lorentz-invariant action in d = 4 (Glaser 2014), and Lovelock's uniqueness theorem. Time in RA is not a background parameter. Time is the process of the causal DAG growing. Proper time along a worldline is the count of actualization events τ = N_act/λ₀. The arrow of time is not derived from entropy gradients: it is encoded in the directed edges of the DAG, which are irreversible by construction. Ontic randomness at Step 4 is irreducible: the outcome of an actualization event is not determined by any prior fact in V. This is not epistemic uncertainty but the universe's genuine openness. The framework generates an emergent complexity hierarchy through iterated Step-5 coarse-graining. Biological assembly corresponds directly to actualization events (each JOIN operation in Assembly Theory is an exothermic on-shell energy transfer, confirmed by B3LYP/6-311+G* DFT across all five primary biological bond types). The Causal Firewall is the μ = 1 Erdős-Rényi percolation transition: the same critical actualization density governs QCD confinement–deconfinement, flat galactic rotation curves, fault-tolerance thresholds in quantum error correction, and the onset of stable biological complexity. Biosignatures should correlate with thermodynamic environments sustaining μ ≥ 1. The complete falsifiable prediction set of the program comprises 18 specific predictions spanning particle physics, quantum optics, cosmology, quantum computing, and astrobiology, all tabulated here. Hard walls are stated with precision: Bianchi compatibility, amplitude locality (discrete intrinsic proof), continuum limit convergence, and the covariant □(ln λ) extension. Collaboration targets are identified for each.