The Critical Coherence Constant χ: Resolving Time and Singularity in Quantum Gravity

Time and singularity remain two of the deepest cracks in modern physics: the Wheeler–DeWitt equation admits no intrinsic evolution variable, and Einstein’s equations divergeat the big bang. I show that both problems stem from treating temporal coherence asunlimited—and that both vanish once a single, physically motivated dissipator is added tothe metric–affine action of general relativity. The additional term, quadratic in a covarianttemporal-shear tensor, is governed by one universal constant, χ. Ab-initio Dynergic latticesimulations fix this constant at χc = 0.02936±0.00012, a value identical to the hidden invari-ant in Lars Onsager’s exact 1944 solution of the 2D Ising model. In Onsager’s framework,this number marks the minimal loop weight at criticality; in the Dynergic framework, itreappears as the universal threshold for coherence loss. I refer to this invariant as the Crit-ical Coherence Constant, or χ. With Ising-class critical exponents confirming universalityand no further free parameters introduced, χanchors a framework that yields three immedi-ate results: (i) Intrinsic clock—the Wheeler–DeWitt constraint gains a firstorder term thatselects the FLRW scale factor a as a genuine time variable; (ii) Singularity resolution—thesame term lifts the minisuperspace potential, replacing the big-bang divergence with a finiteDynergic bounce at amin ≈1.3ℓP; and (iii) Testable signature—in the strongfield regime,every black-hole quasinormal mode acquires an excess damping ∆Γ = 12 χℓ, linear in multi-pole order ℓ. Laboratory (picosecond Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometry) and astrophysical(galaxy-core dynamics, Bullet-Cluster offsets) measurements now within reach can cross-check χat the percent level. Thus, time, singularity avoidance, and strong-field observables emerge as entwined consequences of a single constant—first revealed in Onsager’s statisticalmechanics and now resurfacing as the χ Constant, a candidate for a new fundamental lawof quantum gravity.Time and singularity remain two of the deepest cracks in modern physics: the Wheeler–DeWitt equation admits no intrinsic evolution variable, and Einstein’s equations divergeat the big bang. I show that both problems stem from treating temporal coherence asunlimited—and that both vanish once a single, physically motivated dissipator is added tothe metric–affine action of general relativity. The additional term, quadratic in a covarianttemporal-shear tensor, is governed by one universal constant, χ. Ab-initio Dynergic latticesimulations fix this constant at χc = 0.02936±0.00012, a value identical to the hidden invari-ant in Lars Onsager’s exact 1944 solution of the 2D Ising model. In Onsager’s framework,this number marks the minimal loop weight at criticality; in the Dynergic framework, itreappears as the universal threshold for coherence loss. I refer to this invariant as the Crit-ical Coherence Constant, or χ. With Ising-class critical exponents confirming universalityand no further free parameters introduced, χanchors a framework that yields three immedi-ate results: (i) Intrinsic clock—the Wheeler–DeWitt constraint gains a firstorder term thatselects the FLRW scale factor a as a genuine time variable; (ii) Singularity resolution—thesame term lifts the minisuperspace potential, replacing the big-bang divergence with a finiteDynergic bounce at amin ≈1.3ℓP; and (iii) Testable signature—in the strongfield regime,every black-hole quasinormal mode acquires an excess damping ∆Γ = 12 χℓ, linear in multi-pole order ℓ. Laboratory (picosecond Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometry) and astrophysical(galaxy-core dynamics, Bullet-Cluster offsets) measurements now within reach can cross-check χat the percent level. Thus, time, singularity avoidance, and strong-field observablesemerge as entwined consequences of a single constant—first revealed in Onsager’s statisticalmechanics and now resurfacing as the χ Constant, a candidate for a new fundamental lawof quantum gravity.