Fractal Time and Dimensional Flow: A Temporal Ontology for Emergent Spacetime in Quantum Gravity

Fractal Time and Dimensional Flow: A Temporal Ontology for Emergent Spacetime in Quantum Gravity | 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 Fractal Time and Dimensional Flow: A Temporal Ontology for Emergent Spacetime in Quantum Gravity Mohamed Haj Yousef This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6777186/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 The reduction of effective spacetime dimensionality at high energies is a robust feature of several quantum gravity approaches, including causal dynamical triangulations (CDT), asymptotic safety, and Hořava–Lifshitz gravity. This work proposes a new explanation grounded in the temporal ontology of the Duality of Time Theory (DTT), where space emerges from layered projections of a complex, fractal-like time structure. We define a two-level temporal geometry in which projection latency increases with energy, leading to an effective spectral dimension that flows from d s = 4 to d s ≈ 2 at Planckian scales. Numerical simulations are presented showing consistency with dimensional flow observed in CDT, and we derive modified entropy scaling and vacuum fluctuation suppression. The results suggest that dimensional flow may not require fundamental spatial discreteness but can emerge from a coherent, recursive temporal architecture. We discuss connections to thermal time, relational time, and causal set theory, and outline potential observational consequences, including gravitational wave dispersion and deviations in black hole thermodynamics. This model reinterprets core quantum gravitational phenomena through a temporally grounded geometric ontology, opening new conceptual and empirical directions. Quantum Gravity Duality of Time Theory Fractal Time Dimensional Flow Spectral Dimension Causal Dynamical Triangulations Asymptotic Safety UV Completion Vacuum Energy Planck Scale Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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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-6777186","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":463682743,"identity":"8419361d-0ee5-42ab-ab29-79f37635da13","order_by":0,"name":"Mohamed Haj Yousef","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCQYGAzCD+fABUrWwpSUQrwUC2HIMiNOhO7v5QTFPxWF7fjaebxI/Kg4z8LcfYPzwAY8WszvHDIx5zhxOnNnGu02y58xhBokzCcySM/BpuZFgYMzbdjjB4H7vNgkgg4HhBgODNA9eLekfQFrs7Y/xPJP8++8wg/wNBubff/BqyQHbwriBjYdNmrfhMIPBDQY2aXzeB2opMJxzJj1xxjE2Y2uZY+k8hmcS2yx78Dtsm8GbCmt7/jbmhzff1FjLyR0/fPjGD3zWACPECNmzQDZjA34NwJTykICZo2AUjIJRMNIBAHCMTLB2dNoBAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"United Arab Emirates University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mohamed","middleName":"Haj","lastName":"Yousef","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-29 13:53:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6777186/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6777186/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85197764,"identity":"4536cbf6-a001-41f4-b574-5a91404bd6b9","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-23 09:47:14","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":225154,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"fractionaltime.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6777186/v1_covered_87ba4337-4f1b-4252-8cd8-5a211d28f581.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Fractal Time and Dimensional Flow: A Temporal Ontology for Emergent Spacetime in Quantum Gravity","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","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":"Quantum Gravity, Duality of Time Theory, Fractal Time, Dimensional Flow, Spectral Dimension, Causal Dynamical Triangulations, Asymptotic Safety, UV Completion, Vacuum Energy, Planck Scale","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6777186/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6777186/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe reduction of effective spacetime dimensionality at high energies is a robust feature of several quantum gravity approaches, including causal dynamical triangulations (CDT), asymptotic safety, and Hořava–Lifshitz gravity. 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