The Speed of Light as a Consequence of Temporal Torsion: A Derivation from Mass as Twisted Time (MaTT)

Abstract

We derive the speed of light \(c\) not as a postulate, but as a dynamical consequence of temporal torsion within the Mass as Twisted Time (MaTT) framework. In MaTT, mass arises from topological twisting of the temporal manifold, and gravitational waves are interpreted as propagating disturbances in this time-torsion field—termed “torsion waves.” From the minimal action principle governing \(\hat{T}_\mu\), we derive the wave equation \(\square \hat{T}_\mu = 0\), which yields the dispersion relation \(k_\mu k^\mu = 0\). This implies that torsion waves propagate at exactly \(c\), the maximum processing rate of quantum time. We show that this prediction is empirically confirmed by the 2017 observation of GW170817, where gravitational waves arrived simultaneously with gamma rays to within \(10^{-15}\) precision. For supermassive black hole binaries, the associated torsion-induced spectral modulation falls in the millihertz band (\(f_* \sim 0.1–10\,\text{mHz}\)), placing it squarely within the sensitivity range of the future LISA observatory. This paper reinforces MaTT’s core claim: the speed of light is not fundamental—it emerges from the geometry of twisted time.