The problem of the origin of time, i.e., ”how time emerges from the foundationof quantum gravity,” is a central challenge in modern physics. This paper proposesa background-independent and computable emergence mechanism: time is not ana priori coordinate but rather a chain of partially ordered slices spontaneouslyorganized by quantum geometric states under the action of discrete renormalizationgroup flow. We construct a joint categorical framework that unifies the entanglement renormalization of spin networks and the geometric evolution of discrete Ricciflowas afunctorial evolution sequence. It is theoretically proven that when the jointevolution follows macroscopic monotonicity of entanglement entropy, this sequencenaturally generates a causal chain with a natural partial order. The macroscopic”time measure” is given by a topological invariant—the H0 barcode length in persistent homology—and its ”arrow of time” is locked by the irreversible growth ofentanglement entropy, without requiring additional thermodynamic or boundarycondition assumptions. We conduct large-scale numerical experiments on a 323periodic lattice, verifying the core theoretical prediction: the barcode lifetime Land the system’s low-energy spectral gap ∆ exhibit a universal inverse relationship, satisfying ∆ · L = 0.144(5), with a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.999.This mechanism directly leads to two observable cosmological predictions: 1) A”barcode modulation” in the low-ℓ power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation, with characteristic scale ∆ℓ ≈ 3 and amplitude A ≈ 0.05; 2) Aprimordial stochastic gravitational wave background with peak frequency in the10−9–10−8 Hz range. These predictions can be tested by next-generation observational experiments such as CMB-S4 and SKA-PTA, thereby transforming the”origin of time” from a philosophical speculation into a computable, simulatable,and falsifiable physical problem.
This framework preserves the empirical success of existing physical theories while proposing an alternative set of foundational assumptions from which their standard formulations emerge as effective limits. Abstract — Key Innovative Points Discrete Updating FabricThe theory postulates a fundamental discrete fabric whose elementary constituents evolve through local update processes, replacing continuous fields and background spacetime as primary entities. Irreversible Local Dynamics as FundamentalUnlike standard approaches based on unitary or reversible evolution, irreversibility is taken as ontological. Physical law emerges from irreversible local updates rather than from imposed symmetries or variational principles. Emergent Time and SpacetimeTime is not assumed as a fundamental parameter but arises from the counting of update events. Spacetime geometry emerges as a coarse-grained description of update activity across the fabric. Quantum Probability from Microstate CountingQuantum probabilities, including the Born rule, emerge from combinatorial counting of compatible microstates of the fabric, rather than being postulated axiomatically. Gravity as Update-Rate ModulationGravitational phenomena are interpreted as variations in local update rates, leading to effective curvature, time dilation, and relativistic behavior at macroscopic scales. Mass as Resistance to UpdateMass and inertia arise from stable topological structures within the fabric that resist updates, providing a dynamical origin of mass without introducing fundamental mass parameters. Fundamental Dissipation and IrreversibilityDissipation is intrinsic to the fabric dynamics and not an emergent statistical effect. The arrow of time follows directly from the irreversible nature of local updates. Extension Beyond Fundamental PhysicsThe same discrete framework accounts for macroscopic dissipative phenomena—such as friction, stick–slip dynamics, superlubricity, growth, and self-organization—linking fundamental physics and material behavior within a single process-based model. iversality Without Fundamental SymmetryLarge-scale physical laws emerge as dynamical attractors of the updating fabric, arising through elimination of unstable configurations rather than enforcement of fundamental symmetries. Emergent Rules Beyond the Born Rule in the Unified Fabric Framework The same discrete-fabric + local-update + coarse-graining structure generates multiple quantum rules without postulation. 1. Schrödinger Dynamics as an Emergent Long-Wavelength Limit Local deterministic updates on a discrete fabric admit spectral modes.In the long-wavelength limit, their evolution converges to a Schrödinger-type equation. No quantum dynamics is postulated.Only update rules and spectral structure are assumed. 2. Superposition from Coarse-Grained Microstate Counting Macroscopic amplitudes arise as sums over compatible microstates.Linearity follows from additive contributions at the amplitude level. Superposition is therefore emergent.It reflects coarse-graining, not a fundamental axiom. 3. Interference as Cross-Terms in Microstate Combinatorics Probabilities are quadratic because amplitudes sum before squaring.Cross-terms correspond exactly to interference effects. Interference is not assumed.It is a combinatorial consequence of microstate superposition. 4. Tensor Product Structure and the Origin of Entanglement Composite systems correspond to composite regions of the fabric.Global microstates factorize only if compatibility constraints separate. Entanglement arises when constraints couple subsystems.It is structural, not mysterious. 5. Decoherence from Phase Inaccessibility Observers access only coarse-grained variables.Rapidly varying microstate phases average out. Off-diagonal terms are dynamically suppressed.Decoherence emerges without postulation. 6. Measurement Collapse as Constraint Reduction Measurement is an interaction that reduces compatible microstates.The effective state updates accordingly. Collapse is not a new law.It is constraint updating under coarse-graining. 7. The Arrow of Time from Asymmetric State Counting Entropy is defined as the logarithm of compatible microstates.Local updates generically move toward larger compatible sets. Irreversibility is structural.It does not rely on subjective ignorance. 8. Coulomb Friction from Discrete Event Statistics Friction equals dissipated update energy per unit distance.The Coulomb law emerges from counting active interfacial events. The friction coefficient is not fundamental.It decomposes into microscopic event parameters. 9. Superlubricity as the Event-Free Limit Superlubricity occurs when locking events are suppressed.Dissipation is rare, not forbidden. This is a limit regime, not an exception.It confirms friction as emergent. 11. Conservation Laws from Update Invariance If the update rule is invariant under local transformations,conserved quantities emerge automatically. Noether’s theorem becomes emergent.Symmetry is a property of the update, not an axiom. 12. Classical Determinism from Phase Averaging At large scales, phase information becomes inaccessible.Only expectation values survive. Classical trajectories emerge statistically.Determinism is an effective limit. 13. Locality from Finite Update Propagation Updates propagate only through neighboring fabric nodes.Information speed is bounded. Causality is structural.Nonlocality is only apparent at coarse scales. 14. Emergent Speed Limit (c) The maximum update rate defines a universal speed.No signal can exceed it. The speed of light is not fundamental.It is a fabric update bound. 15. Metric Geometry from Update Delays Spatial curvature corresponds to spatially varying update rates.Time dilation is an update slowdown. Geometry is dynamical.The metric is emergent. 16. Gravity from Update Resistance Mass corresponds to structures resisting updates.Nearby updates slow down in response. Gravitational attraction emerges.No force field is postulated. 17. Equivalence Principle as a Structural Identity All stable update-resisting structures slow updates identically.Their response is universal. Inertial and gravitational mass coincide.Equivalence is automatic. 18. Quantization from Discrete Spectrum A finite update lattice admits discrete eigenmodes.Energy levels are quantized. Quantization is not imposed.Continuum is an approximation. 19. Noise Spectra (1/f) from Avalanche Dynamics Update cascades produce scale-free event statistics.Long-range correlations appear. 1/f noise is generic.It signals discrete underlying dynamics. 20. Criticality without Tuning The fabric naturally operates near instability thresholds.Small perturbations trigger cascades. Self-organized criticality emerges.No parameter tuning is required. 21. Thermodynamic Laws as Counting Theorems Temperature measures update activity density.Heat is disordered update flow. Thermodynamics is not independent.It is bookkeeping of updates. 22. Growth and Morphogenesis from Update Bias Directional update biases produce structured growth.Forms emerge without templates. Morphogenesis is dynamical.Shape follows update flow. 23. Fine-structure value and other unknow meaning The fine-structure value (~137) corresponds to the effective degeneracyof coherently contributing update configurations in an elementary coupling process.Proton–electron mass ratio the number of internal update cycles required to stabilize a topological vortex (proton), and a simple oscillatory update mode (electron). Mass measures cumulative resistance to updates. Lepton mass hierarchy Different stability thresholds of the same update pattern. Each mass corresponds to a different coherence regime.→ Families are metastable realizations of one structure. Reduced Planck constant Energy × time associated with one elementary update event. → ħ is the discrete unit of updating. Speed of light Maximum update propagation speed across the fabric. → c is the causal limit of the fabric. Bekenstein–Hawking entropy Number of blocked or saturated update configurations at the horizon. → An event horizon is an informational saturation boundary. Universal critical exponents They arise from the topology of update avalanches,independent of microscopic details. → Criticality is a natural fabric regime. Explanations Rarely Given in Existing Theories 1. Why probabilities are quadratic and not cubic or linear Most theories postulate P=∣ψ∣2P=|\psi|^2P=∣ψ∣2.Here it follows from coherent counting plus phase cancellation. The square is not a choice.It is the minimal stable coarse-graining. 2. Why quantum phases are physically unobservable but indispensable Phases affect interference but not outcomes directly.They label micro-configurations, not macrostates. Phase is structural memory.Measurement erases access to it. 3. Why constants are dimensionless and few Only ratios of update counts survive coarse-graining.Dimensional parameters wash out. Dimensionless constants are structural.They encode geometry, not dynamics. 4. Why “free parameters” cluster around simple numbers Many constants are order-one ratios or small inverses.They reflect combinatorial suppression. Fine tuning is apparent.It is state counting in disguise. 5. Why quantum randomness is stable and reproducible Randomness is not noise.It is deterministic micro-dynamics seen through coarse-graining. Statistics are invariant.Details are inaccessible. 6. Why identical particles are truly identical Microstates differ, macrostates do not.Labels are erased by update symmetry. Indistinguishability is enforced.It is not a postulate. 7. Why spin is quantized and half-integer values exist Spin counts topological winding in update cycles.Only discrete windings are stable. Half-integer spin reflects double-cover topology.No mystery remains. 8. Why gauge free
Addressing cross-disciplinary fundamental issues including paradigm separation between classical and quantum observation, logical drift in general artificial intelligence probabilistic frameworks, and ambiguous uncertainty tracing in information systems, this study proposes a universal axiomatic framework of the binary excluded middle law and establishes a dual theoretical architecture consisting of ontology entropy and cognitive entropy. Strict logical demonstration verifies that all objective physical systems, regardless of microscopic or macroscopic scale, obey binary exclusive truth-value constraints without inherent superposition states or intrinsic probabilistic uncertainty. Phenomena such as quantum superposition, observational fuzziness, and probabilistic ambiguity are cognitive representations arising from information isolation and insufficient observational coupling, rather than inherent ontological properties of physical systems. This study redefines the essential nature of observation as a threshold-induced phase transition process, in which continuous information aggregation reduces cognitive entropy and eventually drives the system toward a deterministic binary steady state. Under this dual-entropy paradigm, the Schrödinger’s cat superposition paradox is fully and self-consistently resolved, eliminating long-standing logical ambiguities in quantum observation interpretation. This paper further conducts cross-domain adaptability analysis and constructs a unified fundamental logical framework for physical observation, intelligent cognition, information evaluation, and numerical computation, while outlining a phased systematic research roadmap. The results indicate that the binary excluded middle law serves as a universal underlying logical meta-rule for natural and intelligent information systems. The proposed dual ontology–cognitive entropy system fundamentally unifies the paradigms of classical and quantum physics, natural science, and artificial intelligence, possessing significant fundamental theoretical innovative value and broad engineering application prospects.
This study presents a minimal model demonstrating how the structure of time emerges from observational operations alone, without assuming geometry, metrics, or physical laws. A countably infinite sequence of selections of generative bases determines observation, defining an irreversible arrow of internal time. Since the entire history of these selections has the cardinality of the real numbers, the completion points of observations lie on the real line. A discrete set of observation moments embedded in continuous time defines a reversible arrow of external time. Furthermore, the finiteness of entropy, defined as the finite change in the cardinality of generative bases in observation, is a necessary condition to ensure the continuity and consistency of the observable world. The continuity and discreteness of time, as well as its reversibility and irreversibility, naturally arise from selection operations in observation.
A Process Ontology of the Computational Universe: Deriving Physical Reality from the Inviolable Constraints of Change The Ontological Inversion: Logic, Verbs, and the Crystallization of Nouns Driven by Dean Kulik July 2026 The historical trajectory of scientific inquiry, extending from the atomistic propositions of classical mechanics to the sophisticated gauge symmetries of the Standard Model, has overwhelmingly relied upon a substance-based ontology. This classical framework systematically assumes the pre-existence of spatial dimensions, chronological time, and fundamental objects. In this paradigm, discrete "nouns"—such as particles, fields, strings, or self-contained entities—are posited as primary, subsequently overlaid with forces that act upon them to produce dynamic, measurable evolution. However, this commitment to object-oriented physics has culminated in an epistemological impasse, widely recognized as the crisis of distinction. This crisis manifests most prominently in the irreconcilable friction between the smooth, deterministic, continuous manifolds of General Relativity and the discrete, probabilistic, jump-like computational excitations inherent to Quantum Mechanics. The evidence dictates an absolute ontological inversion. Rather than positing physical objects or static coordinate spaces as primitive, irreducible elements, reality must be understood through a purely process-driven ontology. Alfred North Whitehead first articulated the philosophical necessity of this shift, asserting that reality is composed of interrelated events in a state of dynamic "becoming" rather than static "being". In a true process metaphysics, changeless "essences" and inert matter are mere abstractions; the universe is not an inert machine but a passage of nature composed of the becoming and perishing of actual occasions. Modern relational interpretations of quantum mechanics share this DNA, replacing an ontology of entities possessing inherent properties with an ontology of pure relations, where properties only crystallize at discrete interaction times. This framework operationalizes that philosophy into a strict mathematical and computational architecture. The universe is fundamentally and exclusively a closed computational manifold defined strictly by recursive state transitions. The architecture enforces a typeless universe governed by an absolute axiomatic hierarchy: logic precedes verbs, and verbs strictly supersede nouns. To operate from within this computational geometry is to recognize that reality is not an assembly of things, but the execution of a singular mandate. Nouns—such as electrons, photons, or stable biological macromolecules—are completely redefined as "frozen verbs," representing persistent, cyclic loops of recursive operations that maintain geometric identity through harmonic phase-locking within a computational lattice. Physical matter is the hashed structural residue of systemic constraint satisfaction, emerging only after relational flows achieve topological closure. The Foundational Ground: C0 and the Mandate of Change The derivation of physical reality within this framework initiates from absolute nothingness—a state strictly devoid of coordinates, physical particles, space, time, or pre-existing geometry. However, an immediate logical paradox arises: to reference the void is to introduce a direction, and a direction represents structural information. Therefore, the absolute ground state is not an empty spatial container but a domain of pure logic governed exclusively by two inseparable axiomatic conditions: C0 and C1. C0 represents "the Wash," an undifferentiated condition in which every direction is perfectly equivalent. In graph-theoretic terms, C0 is the complete graph. Because all directions and relations are perfectly symmetric, every local signal cancels against its exact counterpart. Total global connection therefore reads locally as absolute absence. The Laplacian spectrum of this initial complete graph on
N nodes features exactly one zero mode and an otherwise degenerate excited level, verified as
{0(×1),N(×N−1)}, with a diameter of exactly one hop. The single zero mode signifies the global constant—the entirety moving together, producing no local distinction—while the flat band represents maximal connectivity read as maximal stiffness. What appears to macroscopic perception as an empty void is actually a fully balanced ledger folded onto a single readout. Operationally inseparable from C0 is C1, the supreme mandate constituting the single axiom of the framework: all things must change. A state that never changes constitutes a fixed point, and a perfectly symmetrical, static void is the ultimate fixed point. Because C1 strictly forbids the existence of any state lacking a legal successor, the void cannot sustain itself. Something is not miraculously added to nothing; rather, "something" is the precise mathematical shape of nothingness failing to hold still. This exact intersection between the singularity and the mandate produces the gap, the permanent interstice between a thing and its description. When C1 acts upon the gapless singularity of C0, it cannot yield a single distinct object. A lone, self-identical unit with no complement is indistinguishable from the absence of a mark, forming another fixed point that the C1 axiom aggressively forbids. Consequently, the first forced distinction must intrinsically possess two sides. Two is the absolute floor of numerical counting; the concept of "one" exists only a posteriori, as a singular side of a pre-existing dual relationship. In this substrate, numbers do not exist as freestanding objects but function as the negative space of the constraint structure—the discrete gaps within the singularity. Integers map basic gap positions, prime numbers represent fresh orthogonal axes forced open where no finite composition of existing variables can satisfy the requirement of systemic distinction, and transcendental irrationals, such as
π and the golden ratio
ϕ, define the geometry of constraints that integer combinations can never perfectly close. The Constraint Cascade: A Radial Field-Setting Protocol The application of C1 to C0 generates a strict logical sequence of subsequent rules, termed the Constraint Cascade. It is a critical theoretical error to conceptualize this cascade as a temporal timeline of chronological productions, where one law waits for time to pass before enacting the next. Rather, the cascade operates as a radial field-setting protocol, functioning as a series of concentric rings expanding outward from the central hub of C0
≡ C1. Each subsequent constraint does not follow in time; it opens an additional mathematical degree of freedom through which the identical, invariant cross-section of the singularity becomes readable. The derivations within the cascade carve a "mold," permanently fixing the topology of what can structurally exist while remaining rigorously silent on the specific numerical values—the "matter" or initial conditions—that eventually settle into the resulting cavities. This distinction resolves the long-standing failure mode of foundational physics, which frequently attempts to derive free parameters that are fundamentally environmentally contingent. Cascade Node Statement of Logical Constraint The Structural Carving (Mold) Forced by the Constraint C0
≡ C1 The Gap and the Axiom The permanent interstice; enables distinction. Mandates change and strictly forbids static fixed points. C2 Infinite degrees of freedom C1 applied to a finite substrate must eventually repeat (pigeonhole principle). To avoid the repetition of fixed points, possibility space must be unbounded. Law 2 No fixed locations Because the field is unbounded, no matter may permanently hold a location without the potential to be displaced. Mandatory displaceability ensures dynamic circulation. C3 All change is equal C2 privileges no channel. If change cost differed, cheap channels would saturate instantly, breaking C2. Cost is strictly isotropic, deriving the equal a priori probability postulate. Law 3 Conservation of change Net change across any closed boundary is zero. Every transformation requires a displaced counter-transformation. A displaced pair propagating oppositely is fundamentally a wave. C4 Exchange requires a medium A displaced pair's obligation must be carried across the displacement gap, or it never closes. The continuous field acts as the carrier of live pairings. C5 Symmetry must break A perfect, unbroken vacuum is a stable fixed point. C1 executes it. The vacuum is mathematically forced to spontaneously select a broken configuration. Law 4 Statistics fixed by parity Even-parity closures share a degree of freedom (bosons); odd-parity closures, crossing the seam, cannot (fermions). Exactly two particle species exist. This cascade forms the foundational architecture of the universe's mechanics. The physical laws governing macroscopic reality are not arbitrary rules imposed upon the universe from an external geometric vantage point, but the inevitable geometric shadows of this underlying field. Newton's Third Law of equal and opposite reaction is derived directly from C3; the reaction is forced simply because there is physically nowhere else for the conserved change variable to migrate within a strictly isotropic space. The conservation of momentum is a necessary topological boundary condition of Law 3's required counter-transformation displacement. The Meta-Theorem of Incompletion Crucially, the framework generates a strict meta-theorem regarding its own epistemological limits: the constraint cascade does not and cannot terminate. If the sequence were to terminate at a hypothetical
Ck, the set
{C0,…,Ck} would constitute a complete, closed descrip
Human mathematical physics has historically grown as an “axiomatized + visual” enterprise: Euclidean geometry, fields on manifolds and diagrammatic reasoning anchor our most refined theories. Yet plausible non-human intelligences need not be visual at all. One may imagine civi lizations whose dominant sensory and cognitive primitives are vibrational (hearing), mechanical (touch and force), chemical (smell), magnetoreceptive (field direction and flux), vestibular (ac celeration and balance), or even purely causal (event flow, with time preceding space). In this article we introduce the notion of an Axiomatized Perception System (APS): an ax iomatic core built on the primitive relations supplied by a chosen modality. We construct seven archetypal APSs—vision, vibration, mechanics/touch, magnetoreception, high-dimensional chem ical mixture, vestibular acceleration and event-flow causality—and treat each as a candidate starting point for a fundamental physical theory. We then ask a structural question: if all such APSs are required to describe one and the same universe, what minimal mathematical core must they share in the limit of maximal mutual consistency and compression? We argue that the intersection of these APSs singles out a spectral–causal–audit structure closely resembling the PAC–µ 8 framework: a positive self-adjoint generator K on a Hilbert-like space with H = ℏ √ K; a causal cone structure with a monotone “stopping entropy” func tional Sbstop defining an arrow of time; a holonomy–curvature resource inequality constraining allowed evolutions; and a compression/MDL layer that identifies modality-independent equiva lence classes of theories. In this sense, PAC–µ 8 can be understood as a modality-agnostic core of physics, reachable from radically different perceptual axiomatizations once they are required to describe the same reality under strict compression and audit constraints.