A Fundamental Model for Constructing the Physical Universe

In this paper we develop a model for physics that allows us to derive basic things that are typically assumed as given, including ordinary space and time, and their properties. We start with a simple argument for what the primitive element and the primitive structure for the universe should be, and summarize the results as four postulates. In section 3 we use those postulates to derive a (3+1)-dimensional structure, interpreted as ordinary space and time. In section 4 we derive two uniform scalar energy fields, the first of which initially drives a rapid expansion of space (i.e. it acts as an inflaton field), but afterwards manifests as a cosmological constant (i.e. dark energy). We interpret one branch of the second scalar field to be the Higgs field. The fourth postulate is a generator of independence relations, and so it is a generator of fundamental symmetries. We show that many symmetries or uniformities of the physical universe can be derived by simply applying postulate 4. These include the uniformity (isotropy and homogeneity) of ordinary space, the uniform distribution of dark energy, the uniform distribution of energy in the primordial volume of space (and thus in the cosmic microwave background), and the (default) uniform smearing of particle locations across space (in quantum mechanics). Of course, a new type of model such as this is going to involve a learning curve. But most of the new concepts and terminology are introduced by the end of section 2. After that, we just keep applying them