For me, matter is just a region of 3D space (-time?) which has gotten itself tied up into a multidimensional knot. Some of the knots will be the result of prior knots gettting tied up with each other into bigger knots.

The space (-time?) around such knots are streched thin, and thus tend to attract each other, i.e. clump, thereby creating atoms, plasma, gases, liquids, and solids, i.e., stars and planets and galaxies and superclusters of galaxies.

Not all knots are stable, i.e. immune to becoming unties. If they untie completely, the region around them will unstretch sending out "seimic" body waves (light?). The same applies to partial untying which may leave not only light but subparticles (smaller knots).

If this seem too abstract to grasp, imagine a two dimensional unstretched sheet of rubber. Now, with very stick fingers, imagine grabbing a circular area of it and then tying that area into a knot. The rubber near the knot is now less dense; if waves (vibrations) would travel through it more rapidly, i.e., it would refract.

I do not have sufficient knowledge in topology to work this at the multidimensional level. Perhaps a reader with such knowledge could explore this further.