A Novel Approach to Extra Dimensions

Four-dimensional spacetime, together with a natural generalisation to extra dimensions, is obtained through an analysis of the structures and symmetries deriving from possible arithmetic expressions for one-dimensional time. On taking the infinitesimal limit this simple one-dimensional structure can be consistently equated with a homogeneous form of arbitrary dimension possessing both spacetime and more general symmetries. An extended 4-dimensional manifold, with the associated spacetime symmetry, provides a natural breaking mechanism for a higher-dimensional form and symmetry of time. It will be described how this symmetry breaking leads to a series of distinct properties of the Standard Model of particle physics, deriving directly from the natural mathematical development of the theory.