Momentum First Cosmology - A New Paradigm for Dark Matter and Dark Energy

The Momentum-first framework explains black hole formation without singularities and the TOV limit with no adjustable parameters [Bruma 2025]. In this framework, black holes form when the four-force exceeds a maximal threshold, triggering a quantum transition. Here, we extend this to cosmology via a symmetrical mechanism: the primordial universe was in a quantum state, and classical spacetime emerged when the reverse condition was met, i.e., over successive quanta of proper-time. This condition was satisfied during a brief window — from the end of inflation to s — before baryonic interactions drastically reduced Momentum fluctuations. This framework provides a unified explanation for five long-standing cosmological puzzles, all derived from a single emergence criterion. First calculations, based on reasonable phenomenological assumptions, yield results consistent with observations: · Dark matter: Regions that failed to classicalize account for dark matter. Their electromagnetic invisibility arises from their quantum state, which lacks well-defined classical trajectories. · Early supermassive black holes ( at ): These are the last regions to resist classicalization. Their abnormally low mass-to-galaxy ratios are naturally explained, as they formed without requiring a collapsing progenitor. · Dark energy: As dark matter progressively classicalizes, the quantum-to-spacetime transition contributes to spacetime expansion. · Hubble tension: Dark matter is more abundant in voids than in structures, where interactions with baryons induced classicalization long ago. This explains the higher expansion rates observed in voids. · Slowing cosmic acceleration: As dark matter classicalizes, its reservoir depletes, reducing the rate of spacetime emergence and thus the expansion acceleration. Crucially, this framework is falsifiable on short timescales (2025–2035). It delivers testable predictions across independent observables, notably: - JWST: Environmental correlations of early black holes ( ), - MAGIS-100: Quantum phase shifts in atomic clocks ( ), - SDSS/Euclid: Peculiar velocities in cosmic voids ( ), - DESI/SKA: Suppression of small-scale structure P(k) at k > 10 Mpc⁻¹. Cross-validation of these predictions will provide a definitive test of the framework’s viability by 2035. Unlike ΛCDM—where dark matter and dark energy require separate, unexplained components — this framework unifies both phenomena using the same emergence criterion, offering unprecedented conceptual economy and testability.