Time Is Not a Dimension: A Paradigm Innovation of Spacetime Based on Local Temporal Degrees of Freedom

As a framework built upon four‑ dimensional spacetime geometry,special and general relativity have successfully described how gravitational fields and relative motion modulate proper time,laying the cornerstone of modern physics.Serving as a highly efficient tool for correlating and computing macroscopic phenomena,this framework features strong logical self‑ consistency and high computational precision. Nevertheless,it is essentially a mathematical formalization of observational phenomena.It neither proves that the passage of time is uniquely determined by spacetime geometry,nor rules out alternative physical mechanisms governing time modulation.While the four‑ dimensional spacetime model achieves unparalleled success at macroscopic scales,it has never attained universal compatibility with core principles of quantum mechanics,including nonlocality,quantum entanglement and wave function collapse.Meanwhile,its unified explanatory power exhibits clear limitations when confronted with anomalous signals in high‑ precision atomic clock experiments,and it fails to incorporate the physical logic underlying subjective temporal experience into a unified theoretical system.Subjective time perception has long been studied within psychology and neuroscience,while its underlying universal physical foundation remains insufficiently explored and integrated into mainstream physics.Centered on the unification of quantum mechanics and relativity,and taking atomic clock anomalies as an empirical entry point ,this paper proposes the hypothesis of Local Temporal Degrees of Freedom while fully preserving all experimentally verified conclusions of relativity.We argue that space is an objective three‑ dimensional reality,and time is not an independent spatial dimension but a local dynamical property of evolution determined jointly by the coupling strength between a material system and the cosmic background,as well as its internal recursive phase‑ locking degree.Free from high‑ dimensional assumptions and untestable ad‑ hoc postulates,this framework complies with Occam’s Razor.It provides a unified account for macroscopic relativistic effects,quantum nonlocality, atomic clock anomalies and subjective time perception.Adhering to theoretical self‑ consistency,inclusiveness and falsifiability,this work offers a simpler,more unified and mechanism‑ clear new pathway for fundamental physics,with full respect for all frontier research endeavors.