Mach's Principle: The Alternative to Dark Energy for Cosmological Inflation

Abstract

For the last few decades, the standard Lambda cold dark matter (∧-CDM) model and its variants have been in vogue to describe cosmological inflation following the Friedmann equation. In the apparently flat universe, any distance between two points can be considered as the radial extent of a Newton–Birkhoff's blob that is under co-expansion. Following Mach's principle, the potential of the universe must undergo repulsive interaction with a blob that relies on post-Newtonian gravity. This fact can easily mimic the influence of dark energy needed to sustain cosmological inflation. Taking the time-dependent modified Friedmann–Lemaitre–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) metric element, Einstein's field equation results in the Hubble parameter $72.2km.s^{-1}.Mp{c}^{-1}$, free from Hubble tension. It portrays a self-consistent and amicable alternative to the dark energy theory in exploring inflation solely on the baryonic density of the universe. This model predicts the age of our universe at 13.54 billion years with an expected total lifespan of 38.30 billion years at the Big Crunch.