TITLE:
Mathematical Foundations of the Vacuum Lattice
AUTHORS:
Peter D. Swartz
KEYWORDS:
Vacuum Lattice, Discrete Spacetime, Emergent Geometry, Quantum Uncertainty, Causal Set Theory, Planck Scale, Entropy, Information Theory, Fundamental Constants, Backflow Cosmology
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of High Energy Physics, Gravitation and Cosmology,
Vol.12 No.1,
December
31,
2025
ABSTRACT: We present a first-principles framework in which the physical vacuum is modeled as a discrete digital lattice of nodes, each characterized by a state vector, temporal orientation bits, and adjacency-defined connectivity. Lattice evolution is governed by the operator where
A
encodes connectivity,
ℱ
encodes causal directionality, and enforces Planck-scale constraints. Quantum uncertainty arises statistically from this discrete substrate rather than as a fundamental principle: the Heisenberg inequality is reinterpreted as the continuum projection of granular connectivity. Phase transitions occur when the Hessian of the effective action develops zero modes, producing tachyonic channels in imaginary time and yielding causal/anti-causal sublattices. Entropy is derived from single-bit state counting, recovering the Boltzmann constant
k
B
and exponential scaling with accessible microstates. Higher-order clique statistics determine effective dimensionality, explaining why 1D, 2D, and 3D geometries emerge with isotropy and homogeneity, while higher dimensions are suppressed by Planck Portal constraints. Fundamental constants are recovered naturally:
c=
ℓ
0
Δt
,
ℓ
P
=
ℓ
0
, G~
ϵ
0
ℓ
0
2
∑
i
d
i
,
linking microscopic digital dynamics to macroscopic relativity and gravitation. This model unifies discrete information, emergent geometry, entropy, and physical constants into a self-consistent cosmological framework, offering a lattice-based derivation of both relativistic and quantum behavior.