Cosmochrony: An Exploratory Pre-Geometric Framework for Emergent Spacetime, Gravitation, and Quantum Phenomena

We propose Cosmochrony, a foundational physical framework in which time, inertia, and spacetime geometry emerge from the irreversible relaxation of a single fundamental scalar field χ. Unlike conventional field theories defined on a pre-existing spacetime, Cosmochrony treats relaxation as the primary physical process, from which temporal ordering, effective metrics, and dynamical laws arise. Localized, long-lived excitations of the χ field appear as topologically and spectrally stable solitonic configurations. Their inertial mass is not postulated but emerges as a measure of resistance to global relaxation, quantified by the internal curvature and stability spectrum of the configuration. In regimes where an effective relativistic description applies, this interpretation naturally reproduces E = mc2 as a kinematic identity rather than a fundamental axiom. Spin, statistics, and fermionic 4π periodicity originate from topological obstructions in the configuration space of χ excitations. An effective spacetime metric arises through coarse-grained projections of χ relaxation dynamics, avoiding the assumption of a fundamental geometry. Gravitational and electromagnetic interactions are interpreted as manifestations of relaxation gradients and deformations of the underlying field, while gravitational waves correspond to propagating modulations of χ. The Higgs mechanism is recovered as an effective low-energy description of how localized excitations acquire inertial properties within an already structured relaxation background, without modifying its empirical phenomenology. At cosmological scales, the framework provides a unified interpretation of cosmic expansion, dark matter, and dark energy in terms of the global relaxation budget of the χ field. The observed Hubble tension is addressed through nonlinear relaxation effects, without invoking new particle species or inflationary dynamics. Cosmochrony does not aim to replace the Standard Model or General Relativity at accessible energies, but to supply a deeper explanatory layer in which their structures emerge from a common physical origin. The framework yields testable qualitative predictions, identifies clear numerical programs for validation via lattice simulations, and delineates the conditions under which effective field theories and spacetime descriptions remain valid.