Unified Field Theory Emerging from Discrete Space Quanta Numerical Verification of the Four Fundamental Interactions

Unified Field Theory Emerging from Discrete Space Quanta Numerical Verification of the Four Fundamental Interactions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Unified Field Theory Emerging from Discrete Space Quanta Numerical Verification of the Four Fundamental Interactions Zhucheng Ying This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract We propose a unified field theory based on the hypothesis that spacetime is composed of discrete “space quanta” arranged in a regular lattice.Each quantum carries two types of degrees of freedom: internal spin/color (responsible for emergent gauge interactions) and displacement vector (responsible for emergent gravity). Through large-scale Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate for the first time that all four fundamental interactions emerge naturally from this single discrete model: 1.Electromagnetism emerges from U(1) spin waves of the internal angles, exhibiting linear dispersion ω=ck with c=1.02(3) in lattice units, identical to photons; 2.Weak interaction emerges from SU(2) gauge dynamics; with a Higgs doublet, spontaneous symmetry breaking reduces the string tension from σ=0.149(1) in the pure gauge theory to σ≈0, signaling the mass acquisition of W/Z bosons; 3.Strong interaction appears as permanent confinement in SU(3) pure gauge theory; we verify the area law via 4D lattice simulations and literature comparisons, obtaining σ=0.23(2) consistent with QCD; 4.Gravity is identified with the elastic strain of the space-quantum lattice: the transverse traceless (spin-2) mode of the displacement field obeys ω = cTk with velocity cgrav=cT=0.923(9), the first direct numerical evidence that the graviton is a collective excitation of the spacetime crystal. This work constitutes the first complete numerical demonstration that electromagnetism, weak, strong, and gravitational interactions can emerge from a single discrete spacetime lattice without any additional assumptions or free parameters, representing a significant step toward a testable theory of quantum gravity. Theoretical Physics Unified field theory discrete spacetime space quanta emergent gauge fields Higgs mechanism lattice QCD graviton molecular dynamics Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8876895","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":591206234,"identity":"2f981edb-cc54-4fe9-ac99-94e3ad9faad1","order_by":0,"name":"Zhucheng Ying","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA0klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACfmb24z8SKth42PibDxCnRbKdJ0Hiwxk+OX6JYwnEaTE4z2AgObNNzliyIceASJcdZkgw5jljlrjhwJmPN94w2MnpNhDQwdjMeCCZpyItccPh3s2WcxiSjc0OENDCzMyQcJjnzDGgLWe3SfMwHEjcRkgLGzODYTNv23+glpxnxGnhYWYwZpzZxgbyPhtxWiSYedIYPpxhAwWyseUcAyL8Yn/++DEGaFQ+vPGmwk6OoBZUK3mIjRokLaTqGAWjYBSMghEBAIw/QrZqH/WJAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2980-9368","institution":"Independent Researcher","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhucheng","middleName":"","lastName":"Ying","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-14 04:39:33","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102962678,"identity":"cf6ee279-4bf7-4694-a68c-ed2076b27390","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-19 04:10:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":664355,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"UnifiedFieldTheoryEmergingfromDiscreteSpaceQuantaNumericalVerificationoftheFourFundamentalInteractions.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8876895/v1_covered_c30deeeb-9e80-4c78-a0a7-bb34cae21b4c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eUnified Field Theory Emerging from Discrete Space Quanta Numerical Verification of the Four Fundamental Interactions\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Independent Researcher","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Unified field theory, discrete spacetime, space quanta, emergent gauge fields, Higgs mechanism, lattice QCD, graviton, molecular dynamics","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eWe propose a unified field theory based on the hypothesis that spacetime is composed of discrete “space quanta” arranged in a regular lattice.Each quantum carries two types of degrees of freedom: internal spin/color (responsible for emergent gauge interactions) and displacement vector (responsible for emergent gravity). Through large-scale Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate for the first time that all four fundamental interactions emerge naturally from this single discrete model:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1.Electromagnetism emerges from U(1) spin waves of the internal angles, exhibiting linear dispersion ω=ck with c=1.02(3) in lattice units, identical to photons;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2.Weak interaction emerges from SU(2) gauge dynamics; with a Higgs doublet, spontaneous symmetry breaking reduces the string tension from σ=0.149(1) in the pure gauge theory to σ≈0, signaling the mass acquisition of W/Z bosons;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3.Strong interaction appears as permanent confinement in SU(3) pure gauge theory; we verify the area law via 4D lattice simulations and literature comparisons, obtaining σ=0.23(2) consistent with QCD;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4.Gravity is identified with the elastic strain of the space-quantum lattice: the transverse traceless (spin-2) mode of the displacement field obeys \u003cem\u003eω\u003c/em\u003e=\u003cem\u003ecTk \u003c/em\u003ewith\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003evelocity cgrav=cT=0.923(9), the first direct numerical evidence that the graviton is a collective excitation of the spacetime crystal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis work constitutes the first complete numerical demonstration that electromagnetism, weak, strong, and gravitational interactions can emerge from a single discrete spacetime lattice without any additional assumptions or free parameters, representing a significant step toward a testable theory of quantum gravity.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Unified Field Theory Emerging from Discrete Space Quanta Numerical Verification of the Four Fundamental Interactions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-17 05:34:12","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8876895/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7cf434a4-7d4b-4bc6-8950-52aa43221de7","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 17th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":62917669,"name":"Theoretical Physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-17T05:34:12+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-17 05:34:12","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8876895","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8876895","identity":"rs-8876895","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}