The Fundamental Photonic Network: A Theory of Emergent Spacetime, Matter, and Cosmology from a Discrete Causal Structure (PMES-F Framework) .

This paper presents (as a curiosity) the PMES-F (Photon-Membrane Emergent Spacetime – Fundamental Network) framework, which proposes that (3+1)-dimensional spacetime, matter, and physical laws are emergent rather than fundamental. At the most basic level, reality consists of a dynamic, discrete network of zero-dimensional Fundamental Photonic Events (FFZs) connected by causal relations. There is no pre-existing spacetime; dimensionality, geometry, and the flow of time arise as statistical properties of the network’s evolving connectivity.

Within PMES-F, several open problems in physics are reinterpreted:

• Gravity is not a fundamental interaction; its weakness and the value of G result from the low statistical likelihood of specific collective network configurations.

• The arrow of time and cosmic expansion correspond to the growth in complexity of the network and the scaling of its relational link lengths.

• Quantum non-locality and entanglement emerge from the network’s non-local topology, allowing instantaneous correlations without violating relativistic causality in the emergent spacetime.

A minimal 2D lattice model demonstrates the mathematical plausibility of the framework. Using lattice gauge theory, U(1) link variables on network edges reproduce the Maxwell action in the continuum limit. By introducing Grassmann fields at network nodes, the authors outline how fermionic Dirac fields coupled to gauge potentials can emerge, providing a route to matter fields.

PMES-F extends the original PMES theory by removing the need for a higher-dimensional ξ-space and a primordial equilibrium singularity. It offers a purely relational and information-theoretic foundation for reality, where constants such as α and phenomena like inflation arise from the statistical mechanics and logical self-consistency of the growing network. While not a complete quantum theory, the work establishes a coherent research program and formal scaffold for deriving the continuous structure and laws of our universe from discrete causal networks.