Emergent SU(3) Geometry, Confinement, and QCD Phenomenology: From Chronon Holonomy to Wilson Loops, Flux Tubes, and the Mass Gap

We extend the chronon framework to the strong sector by showing that the non-Abelian SU(3) connection arises as a composite holonomy of the chronon field Φµ and its gradients, without introducing new microscopic degrees of freedom. The complex polarization tensor of the leafwise derivative ∇Φ defines a local U(3) frame whose trace-less Maurer–Cartan form yields the emergent SU(3) gauge field on the chronon-induced metric gµν[Φ]. Coarse-graining stabilized chronon fluctuations induces a Yang–Mills action SSU(3) ∝ R Tr GµνGµν with positive stiffness. Wilson loops W[C] = trP exp(i H C A) obey an area law under chronon disorder and center symmetry, giving rise to confinement and flux-tube formation. Solitonic matter fields acquire color through associated bundles, while the finite chronon correlation length generates a mass gap and glueball spectrum. Leafwise lattice discretizations reproduce σ and lowest glueball masses at QCD scales. Altogether, the chronon field and its curvature furnish a complete geometric origin of the SU(3) color sector, extending the unified chronon description of gauge interactions to the domain of confinement and strong dynamics.