This theoretical exploration introduces meta-constraints as underlying principles shaping physical laws.
This paper is the Physical Philosophy Volume of the Heluo Geometry system. Modern physics faces a fundamental dilemma: it cannot answer the question "Why these isomorphisms rather than others?" Why is the gauge group SU(3)×SU(2)×U(1)? Why is the fine-structure constant 1/137.03599918? Why can curvature take arbitrary real values? This paper introduces the concept of Meta-Constraints — physical laws themselves are constrained by a more fundamental mathematical structure. This structure is Discrete Sampling Geometry: a system based on three axioms that yields 12-partition of the sphere, the measurement function f(k) = cos(5πk/6), and the three-level quantization of Sheng-Ke curvature {0,2,5}. This paper proves that from this structure, the gauge group, fine-structure constant, and curvature quantization values are not free parameters but mathematical necessities. In particular, pulsar glitch data from the Jodrell Bank catalogue exhibit statistically significant peaks at {0,2,5}×10⁻⁹ (Bootstrap p < 0.05 to < 0.001), providing independent astrophysical evidence for curvature quantization. Meta-constraints are not "a fifth force." They are the Zeroth Constraint — acting not on matter, but on "what kinds of physical laws matter can generate." If meta-constraints hold, physics will no longer need the anthropic principle to explain why the universe is this way — because the universe could only be this way. Keywords: Meta-Constraints; curvature quantization {0,2,5}; Discrete Sampling Geometry; pulsar glitch; fine-structure constant; zeroth constraint Mathematical Foundation: All geometric theorems in this paper are derived from Discrete Sampling Geometry: A Rigorous Axiomatic Reconstruction (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20301581).
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Cheng Xi (2026) studied this question.
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