A unified approach to Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and Cosmic Inflation

The electron Born self-energy (eBse) model assumes a finite-sized electron of radius R_e = 1.9 x 10^-20m, determined from electron-positron collisions at LEP. The Born self-energy U_e^B, corresponding to the energy contained in the surrounding electric field, provides a quantitative description of Dark Energy (Astrophys Space Sci 365, 64 (2020); Phys Sci Forum 2, 9 (2021)). Specifically, this model explains (i) the magnitude of DE, (ii) the occurrence of a deceleration-acceleration transition at a redshift z ~ 0.8, and (iii) possesses an equation of state w = -1 (in Quantum Electrodynamics the electron is assumed to be a point particle (R_e = 0); thus, U_e^B ~ 1/R_e is divergent and is “renormalized away” by assuming that U_e^B is contained within the electron rest mass m_e). w = -1 implies that two electron Born masses m_e^B = U_e^B/c² will experience a gravitational repulsion, whereas m_e^B and an uncharged mass will experience the normal gravitational attraction. m_e^B (~ 40 m_p) is a Dark Matter candidate that provides a good description of the Grand Rotation Curves for the Milky Way and M31 galaxies out to distances of ~ 400 kpc (Sci Rep 14, 24090 (2024)) (the difference between DE and DM, in this model, is as follows: DE arises from the time-dependent creation of m_e^B in intergalactic space due to ionization of hydrogen, whereas DM is a time-independent effect arising from the presence of a halo of electrons, along with their associated m_e^B, that surrounds a galaxy). Early in the Universe’s expansion history, for electrons and positrons of finite size, a glass transition occurs at a maximum number density of ~ 1/(2R_e)³ corresponding to physical contact between particles. This glass transition possesses properties akin to Cosmic Inflation (Sci Rep 13, 21798 (2023)). A brief summary of the eBse model and its interconnections to DE, DM, and CI will be provided in this contribution.