Thermodynamic Gradient Cosmology – A Local Model for the Observed Expansion of the Universe (Second Edition)
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Abstract
The prevailing cosmological paradigm interprets the nearly linear redshift–distance relation of galaxies as evidence that the entire fabric of space has been expanding since an initial high-entropy event commonly referred to as the Big Bang. This paper advances an alternative view: the observed expansion is confined to the hot, energetically active domain that constitutes the observable universe, whereas remote, energy-poor regions beyond the photon horizon may remain static or contractive. The apparent Hubble flow is modeled as a consequence of local thermodynamic gradients. Zones of high temperature and energy density undergo metric dilation, while colder, nearly empty zones do not. This framework reinterprets cosmic expansion as a macroscopic thermodynamic process akin to heat diffusion, extended to astrophysical scales. It challenges the necessity of auxiliary constructs such as dark energy, the cosmological constant, or negative-mass antimatter, and outlines empirical signatures by which it can be tested. The universe, in this view, does not face an inevitable disintegration or "heat death"; instead, it self-regulates through expanding and contracting regions in pursuit of large-scale thermodynamic equilibrium.
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