2026/01/05 by Randall Simpson · 2 voices
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect
paper · pdf · doi:10.33774/coe-2026-cpwxg
openalex created_date 2026/01/05 · openalex publication_date 2026/01/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
This paper develops the fully covariant field-theoretic formulation of the Quantum Vacuum Composite Stiffness Response (QVCSR), in which low-acceleration departures from Newtonian gravity arise from a nonlinear stiffness response of the quantum vacuum rather than from particulate dark matter. The theory is formulated as a minimal Einstein–scalar system involving a single vacuum stiffness field χ, constructed exclusively from first-derivative composite invariants to ensure ghost-free dynamics and a well-posed Cauchy problem. The interaction sector introduces a unique infrared acceleration scale, a\rm QV, which emerges as the only dimensionally consistent scale in the minimal covariant action and governs the onset of the nonlinear vacuum response.