A Causal-Centered Cosmological Model: The E7 Central Core Hypothesis

Abstract This work proposes a causal and geometric cosmological framework centered on the existence of a persistent cosmological core, denoted E7, defining an individual universe as a bounded causal system rather than an unbounded spacetime domain. The model is grounded on the assumption that causality is local, discrete, and rate-limited, with time interpreted as a delay arising from saturated causal execution rather than as a fundamental continuous parameter. Within this framework, gravitation is not treated as a fundamental interaction but as an emergent collective effect resulting from the sum of minimal open causal states associated with matter. Photons are described as sequences of causal closures propagating at the maximal causal rate, carrying no intrinsic information between interactions. These postulates motivate a reinterpretation of large-scale cosmological structure. The universe E7 is defined as a real material system composed of a compact, persistent central core surrounded by a causally open, saturable crust. A cosmological big-bang corresponds not to the creation of spacetime or matter ex nihilo, but to a localized rupture of this crust once a maximal causal threshold is reached. The core itself remains intact and continues to exert a global residual gravitational influence throughout and after the event. A key consequence of this geometry is the distinction between the spatial extent of matter projected during the big-bang and the much larger extent of the observable universe defined by photon propagation. In this model, the cosmic microwave background corresponds to a photon shell emitted after recombination and stretched by subsequent expansion, rather than to a material boundary of the universe. The model is shown to be compatible in principle with current observations while deliberately leaving open the explicit form of the effective gravitational field. This work establishes a protected causal foundation from which quantitative developments may proceed.