Emergent spacetime from spatial energy potentiality: a new theoretical framework for early universe cosmology

Abstract

We develop a comprehensive cosmological framework based on the principle that our universe originated as a three-dimensional spatial configuration governed purely by energy functionals, with time emerging dynamically through quantum loop corrections. Building on the Unified Standard Model with Emergent Gravity-Effective Field Theory (USMEG-EFT), which provides the first successful unification of quantum gravity with the Standard Model, we demonstrate that spacetime emergence occurs via a first-order phase transition when quantum-generated kinetic terms exceed a critical threshold. This transition naturally resolves the cosmological singularity problem: all curvature invariants remain finite, with $R/M_P^4 \sim 10^{-44}$ and $K/M_P^8 \sim 10^{-88}$ at the critical point. The framework makes definitive, parameter-free predictions for gravitational wave polarizations, exactly two tensor modes confirmed by LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observations at $>99\%$ confidence, excluding competing approaches that predict additional scalar, vector, or modified polarization content. Post-emergence dynamics naturally implements Starobinsky inflation with spectral index $n_s = 0.964$ and tensor-to-scalar ratio $r = 0.004$, in excellent agreement with Planck constraints. The phase transition dynamics generate enhanced primordial non-Gaussianity $f_{\rm NL}^{\rm local} \in [0.8, 2.5]$, testable with CMB-S4 (projected $σ\sim 1$), and a stochastic gravitational wave background peaking in the LISA sensitivity band ($f \sim 10^{-4}$ Hz, $Ω_{\rm GW}h^2 \sim 10^{-6}$). The framework naturally addresses the Hubble tension through scale-dependent modifications to cosmic expansion arising from residual phase transition effects.