
We explore the thermodynamic and topological origins of the foundational space- time geometry in the Selection-Stitch Model (SSM) [1, 2]. Rather than assuming a background manifold, we posit that the continuous vacuum emerges from a discrete quantum tensor network evolving to minimize its free energy while resolving the geometric frustration of the early universe. In this framework, the minimal-energy ground state of the Hamiltonian (T →0) is identified as the two-dimensional K = 6 hexagonal sheet. As the tetrahedral foam (K = 4) of Cosmic Inflation expands, it thermodynamically seeks to saturate its open deficit angles. We derive a topologi- cal free energy functional directly from a microscopic partition function, utilizing a controlled cluster expansion bounded by the network’s hard-sphere exclusion limit. This yields a physically motivated kinetic rate equation via non-conserved order parameter dynamics. Drawing on the Kepler Conjecture [6], the absolute maxi- mum density for 3D Euclidean packing caps the coordination at K = 12. While this density is shared by Face-Centered Cubic (FCC) and Hexagonal Close-Packed (HCP) lattices, the FCC lattice is selected during the Alder transition. Under an adiabatic cosmological quench (Γ ≫H), its isotropic point-group symmetry maxi- mizes the phononic density of states, making its vibrational entropy advantage [7, 8] deterministic in the thermodynamic limit. Finally, we demonstrate that the FCC Cuboctahedron is the unique low-energy variational minimum preserving the 2D K = 6 zero-stress Euler state across its 3D bulk.
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