Constants as Invariance: Symmetry, Asymmetry, and the Possibility of Derivation A foundational constants paper on source invariance, manifest invariance, and layered derivation

The problem of constants is usually treated as the problem of unexplained numbers. This paper argues that the deeper problem is ontological: a constant is not fundamentally a number, but an invariant. More precisely, a constant is best understood as source and manifest invariance. Source invariance names what remains invariant at the generative or ontological level; manifest invariance names what remains invariant after emergence, projection, reduction, and measurement. On this basis, symmetry is redefined as structured invariance, while asymmetry is redefined as generative reduction rather than mere breakdown. Manifest constants are therefore interpreted as invariant residues surviving asymmetry reduction into articulated, measurable, or formal regimes. This framework clarifies why constants should not be treated as a flat list of fixed parameters. Some constants ground pure source, some govern articulated transition, some govern threshold conditions, some recur across layers, some stabilize relations among emerged domains, and some appear as empirical residues within measurement. The paper therefore proposes an invariance architecture of constants in which derivation becomes possible only after ontological classification has been established. The central claim is that physical constants become derivable in principle insofar as they can be understood as stabilized invariant residues of a layered emergence process. This paper does not claim a finished derivation of all physical constants. It instead provides the ontological foundation from which a staged derivation program can proceed. Keywords constants ontology; invariance; symmetry; asymmetry; manifest constants; source invariance; emergence; derivation; compound constants; physical law