A Proposal for a Hierarchical, Scale-Invariant, Self-Causal Multiverse Framework: The Cosmic Tree Architecture

The Cosmic Tree Hypothesis: A Scale-Invariant, Non-Singular Multiverse Architecture Grounded in Quantum Geometry, Unitary Branching, and Conformal Horizon Inversion Identifier: DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23390266 Author: Charlotte Bromberg (Gloucester, UK) Abstract We present a structural, scale-invariant cosmological architecture that models the universal lifecycle as a continuous, four-tier hierarchical system regularized by a conformal infrared/ultraviolet (IR/UV) boundary loop. While modern fundamental physics offers rigorous local descriptions of Planck-scale geometry, vacuum selection, low-energy unitary evolution, and black hole interiors, these domains are frequently treated as disjoint or mathematically incompatible frameworks plagued by singular boundaries and infinite regress. The Cosmic Tree Hypothesis synthesizes these disparate mechanisms into an interconnected organic topology: The Substrate (The Soil): Smooth four-dimensional spacetime emerges from an energetic, non-perturbative quantum pre-geometry governed by microscopic causal directionality (Causal Dynamical Triangulations) and non-local holographic connectivity (ER=EPR entanglement networks), thermodynamically driven by horizon degrees of freedom and zero-point ground-state stress-energy. Nomological Locking (The Trunk): Primordial cosmic expansion and positive effective field theory constraints filter viable vacuum states, while moduli stabilization freezes internal compact dimensions. This establishes an invariant effective Lagrangian ($\mathcal{L}_{\text{eff}}$), structurally separating the fixation of fundamental physical constants from subsequent quantum divergence. Low-Energy Unitary Evolution (The Branches): Everettian Many-Worlds branching is strictly nested within the locked effective Lagrangian. Environmental decoherence drives irreversible bough bifurcations (classical history branching) while preserving metric consistency and nomological parameter invariance across all emergent classical trajectories, mapped geometrically via multiway branchial space. Horizon-Insulated Reproduction (The Bark / Seeds): Classical gravitational singularities at the termination of stellar evolution are resolved by quantum area gaps and non-zero fermion spin-torsion (Einstein-Cartan mechanics). Infalling mass-energy is insulated by the event horizon, where quantum tunneling converts contraction into an interior, non-singular FLRW-like cosmological bounce. Variational peak torsion during gravitational collapse provides the dynamical mutation engine altering moduli minima for offspring universes (Cosmological Natural Selection). The Conformal Scale Loop ($R \longleftrightarrow 1/R$): The framework resolves infinite metric recursion through a conformal hypersurface matching condition. In the asymptotic late-time de Sitter epoch, the decay of rest-mass rulers renders the universe conformally invariant; the macroscopic infrared boundary ($\mathcal{I}^+$) is topologically mapped to the ultraviolet initial Cauchy surface ($\Sigma_0$) of the foundational quantum substrate. By integrating twenty foundational theoretical models—spanning emergent gravity, string phenomenology, quantum information, loop quantum cosmology, and conformal cyclic transitions—this framework replaces ad-hoc singular endpoints with an ecologically closed, testable cosmological lifecycle. We outline specific observational footprints, including low-$\ell$ CMB polarization bounds, tensor-to-scalar ratio ceilings ($r \lesssim 10^{-3}$), and non-thermal entanglement preservation across horizon evaporation.