Meta-Geometric Genesis of Spacetime from Spontaneously Broken Gauge Symmetry

We present a pre-geometric gauge theory in which spacetime geometry and gravity emerge from spontaneous symmetry breaking and a concurrent topological phase transition. The theory is formulated on a four-dimensional manifold without presupposed metric structure, with general covariance maintained. Based on the de Sitter or anti-de Sitter gauge groups, a Higgs-like vector field triggers symmetry breaking to the Lorentz group, dynamically generating the spacetime metric and spin connection. We identify the complete set of irreducible pre-geometric operators, which reduce upon symmetry breaking to the most general 4D topological extension of Einstein gravity, encompassing the Einstein–Hilbert action, the cosmological constant, and the Gauss–Bonnet, Pontryagin, Holst and Nieh–Yan invariants. The emergent couplings reveal a see-saw mechanism between the Planck mass and Λ and link the Barbero–Immirzi parameter to the ratio of topological couplings. The emergence of spacetime is a topological phase transition, with the Higgs field interpolating between a pure BF topological phase (ϕ=0) with exact non-perturbative quantizability, an out-of-equilibrium regime and a geometric phase (ϕ=v, where v is the vacuum expectation value, or vev, parameter) where gravity emerges. This transition provides a new pathway toward the resolution of the Big Bang and Black Hole singularities, replacing them with phase boundaries where geometry dissolves into a pre-geometric description. Our framework offers a deep conceptual revisitation of the notions of space and time, establishing spacetime as an emergent phenomenon rather than a fundamental entity, and provides a novel foundation for a ultraviolet (UV) completion of Einstein gravity grounded in the topological structure of the pre-geometric phase.