A&A 620, A92 (2018)

https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201832898 Astronomy
c ESO 2018 &
Astrophysics

A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter: Negative masses

and matter creation within a modified ΛCDM framework? , ??
J. S. Farnes1,2

1
Oxford e-Research Centre (OeRC), Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QG, UK
e-mail: [email protected]
2
Department of Astrophysics/IMAPP, Radboud University, PO Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Received 22 February 2018 / Accepted 20 October 2018

ABSTRACT

Dark energy and dark matter constitute 95% of the observable Universe. Yet the physical nature of these two phenomena remains a
mystery. Einstein suggested a long-forgotten solution: gravitationally repulsive negative masses, which drive cosmic expansion and
cannot coalesce into light-emitting structures. However, contemporary cosmological results are derived upon the reasonable assumption
that the Universe only contains positive masses. By reconsidering this assumption, I have constructed a toy model which suggests that
both dark phenomena can be unified into a single negative mass fluid. The model is a modified ΛCDM cosmology, and indicates that
continuously-created negative masses can resemble the cosmological constant and can flatten the rotation curves of galaxies. The model
leads to a cyclic universe with a time-variable Hubble parameter, potentially providing compatibility with the current tension that is
emerging in cosmological measurements. In the first three-dimensional N-body simulations of negative mass matter in the scientific
literature, this exotic material naturally forms haloes around galaxies that extend to several galactic radii. These haloes are not cuspy.
The proposed cosmological model is therefore able to predict the observed distribution of dark matter in galaxies from first principles.
The model makes several testable predictions and seems to have the potential to be consistent with observational evidence from distant
supernovae, the cosmic microwave background, and galaxy clusters. These findings may imply that negative masses are a real and
physical aspect of our Universe, or alternatively may imply the existence of a superseding theory that in some limit can be modelled by
effective negative masses. Both cases lead to the surprising conclusion that the compelling puzzle of the dark Universe may have been
due to a simple sign error.
Key words. cosmology: theory – dark matter – galaxies: kinematics and dynamics – large-scale structure of Universe

1. Introduction are distributed all over the interstellar space” (Einstein

1918).
One of the most fascinating aspects of scientific history is that
regarding Einstein’s efforts with the cosmological constant. It is Despite this insight, within a year Einstein reformulated his inter-
well known that Einstein added a cosmological constant to his pretation:
equations in order to provide a static Universe. Due to this bias, “the new formulation has this great advantage, that the
he failed to predict the expansion of the Universe that was soon quantity Λ appears in the fundamental equations as a con-
observed by Hubble (Hubble 1929). Famously, upon learning of stant of integration, and no longer as a universal constant
the Universe’s expansion, Einstein set the cosmological constant peculiar to the fundamental law”1 (Einstein 1919).
equal to zero and reportedly called its introduction his “biggest
blunder”. What led Einstein to believe that negative masses could provide
Most contemporary physicists are familiar with the fact that a solution to the cosmological constant is therefore of interest.
prior to Hubble’s discovery, Einstein associated the cosmological To understand the physics of negative masses further, we need
constant term with a constant of integration. However, Einstein to “polarise” the Universe so that mass consists of both positive
did not always believe this to be the case, and important details and negative counterparts. Polarisation appears to be a funda-
are currently absent from the historical narrative. In 1918, before mental property of the Universe. Indeed, all well-understood
famously discarding the cosmological constant, Einstein made physical forces can be described through division into two oppos-
the first physical interpretation of the new Λ term that he had ing polarised states. For example, electric charges (+ and −),
discovered: magnetic charges (N and S), and even quantum information (0
and 1) all appear to be fundamentally polarised phenomena. It
“a modification of the theory is required such that “empty could therefore be perceived as odd that gravitational charges –
space” takes the role of gravitating negative masses which conventionally called masses – appear to only consist of positive
monopoles.
? While electromagnetism and quantum theory appear quite
The codes used for the N-body simulations can be down-
loaded at: https://github.com/jamiefarnes/negative-mass- comprehensively understood, there are numerous indications that
simulator our understanding of the nature of mass remains incomplete on
??
Movies associated to Figs. 3 and 6 are available at
https://www.aanda.org 1
The chosen notation used by Einstein was not Λ, but rather λ.

Article published by EDP Sciences A92, page 1 of 20

 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

all spatial scales. In the standard model of particle physics (e.g.

ATLAS Collaboration 2012), the mass of fundamental particles
such as the nine charged fermions (six quarks and three leptons)
and the Higgs boson are all free parameters that cannot be calcu-
lated from first principles. In cosmology, the observed matter in
the Universe only accounts for 5% of the observed gravity, while
the remaining 26% and 69% are accounted for via dark matter and
dark energy respectively (e.g. Planck Collaboration XIII 2016).
The physical nature of both these dark phenomena is completely
unknown, and the quest to identify the Universe’s missing mass
has even given rise to modifications to Newton’s and Einstein’s
theories of gravity (e.g. Ferreira & Starkman 2009). Nevertheless,
our understanding of general relativity has been robustly verified
by every experimental test (e.g. Abbott et al. 2016).
Given these substantial challenges to our understanding of
mass in the Universe, perhaps a new approach that separates mass
into positive and negative polarised counterparts can further our
understanding of cosmology. In this case, particles could have
the property of positive, zero, or negative mass. In Newtonian
physics, this can allow for a variety of different types of negative
mass as the inertial and gravitational masses can differ in sign.
However, throughout this paper I specifically only consider a
negative mass that is consistent with general relativity, so that
the weak equivalence principle always holds and negative mass
matter always has identical inertial and gravitational mass.
While positive mass is familiar to all of us, the concept of
negative mass is rather exotic2 . However, such negative masses
have a number of basic properties, as shown in Fig. 1. While a
positive mass gravitationally attracts all surrounding masses, a
negative mass will gravitationally repel all surrounding masses.
If a force is exerted on a positive mass, the mass will move in the
direction of the applied force. However, if a force is exerted on
a negative mass, the mass will move towards the applied force.
Nevertheless, a negative mass at the surface of the Earth would
fall downwards in a similar manner to a positive mass.
One of the more bizarre properties of negative mass is that
which occurs in positive–negative mass particle pairs. If both
masses have equal magnitude, then the particles undergo a process Fig. 1. Schematic cartoon of gravitational interactions between positive
of runaway motion. The net mass of the particle pair is equal to (in yellow) and negative (in purple) mass particles. Black vectors indi-
zero. Consequently, the pair can eventually accelerate to a speed cate the direction of the gravitational force, Fg = −GM1 M2 /r2 , that is
experienced by a given particle. Red vectors indicate the direction of the
equal to the speed of light, c. Due to the vanishing mass, such
acceleration, a = Fg /M, that is experienced by a given particle when
motion is strongly subject to Brownian motion from interactions the weak equivalence principle holds. There are three possible cases:
with other particles. In the alternative cases where both masses (i) top row: the familiar positive–positive mass interaction, in which both
have unequal magnitudes, then either the positive or the negative particles accelerate towards one another via gravitational attraction, (ii)
mass may outpace the other – resulting in either a collision or the middle row: the positive–negative mass interaction, in which both parti-
end of the interaction. cles accelerate in the same direction – pointing from the negative mass
Although counterintuitive and “preposterous” (Bonnor 1989), towards the positive mass. This case is sometimes referred to as runaway
all of these behaviours violate no known physical laws. Negative motion, and (iii) bottom row: the negative–negative mass interaction, in
masses are consistent with both conservation of momentum and which both particles accelerate away from one another via gravitational
conservation of energy (Forward 1990), and have been shown to repulsion.
be fully consistent with general relativity in the seminal work of
Bondi (1957). Crucially, negative masses are a natural cold dark repulsive negative masses would behave as a dark fluid. The equa-
matter candidate, as negative mass material could not gravitation- tion of state for a perfect fluid is given by p = ωρc2 , where p
ally coalesce in order to form astrophysical structures that can is the pressure, ρ is the energy density, and ω is the equation of
initiate fusion and emit light. As negative masses are attracted state parameter3 .
towards positive masses, they seem capable of applying pressure Negative mass is not a new idea and conventional cosmol-
onto positive masses that could possibly modify a galaxy’s rota- ogy would suggest that such material is ruled out. Much of the
tion curve. Furthermore, negative masses also make a natural dark standard reasoning for the exclusion of negative masses is based
energy candidate, as a diffuse background of mutually-repelling upon “black swan” arguments, in that a negative mass has never
negative masses could drive the expansion of the Universe. The been directly observed. In addition, as the Universe expands, the
density of exotic negative mass matter (with ω = 0) would be
2
A particle with negative mass is not to be confused with a particle of increasingly diluted. The mutually-repulsive nature of negative
negative mass-squared. Such tachyon particles have an imaginary mass,
and are not considered in this paper. 3
Sometimes stated in units where c = 1.

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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

masses is therefore tantalisingly inconsistent with measurements where a is the scale factor, H ≡ ȧ/a is the Hubble parameter, ρ is
of dark energy, as this mysterious energy does not dilute but rather the total mass density of the universe, p is the pressure, k is the
retains a constant density (with ω = −1) as the Universe expands curvature parameter or intrinsic curvature of space, and k/a2 is the
(e.g. Planck Collaboration XVI 2014). This has previously ruled spatial curvature in any time-slice of the universe. k = +1, 0, and
out unusual negative mass matter as a dark energy candidate. The −1, indicate a closed, flat, and open universe respectively. For a
introduction of bimetric models has allowed for extensions of perfect fluid, the pressure and mass density of the fluid are related
general relativity with two different metrics (e.g. Hossenfelder via the equation of state, which is given by p = ωρ, where ω is
2008). One application of these models has been to explore cos- some constant and for negative mass matter ω = 0, this means
mological theories with negative masses as a form of dark energy that for negative mass matter the pressure is negligible relative to
(Petit & d’Agostini 2014), however such theories have remained the mass density. However, I will show that ω in the equation of
incompatible with observations. state can be modified in cases of matter creation or annihilation.
Despite this initial intellectual hurdle, the basic properties For gravitationally repulsive matter (such as negative masses)
of negative masses still make them a powerful and compelling that is constantly being created, ω can equal −1 as described in
candidate for providing a unification of dark matter and dark Sect. 2.3.1.
energy within a single theoretical framework. It seems possible For a cosmology that contains negative masses, I can also
that negative masses could constitute a form of dark fluid that separate the content of the universe into its respective fractional
can simultaneously explain both of the elusive dark phenomena. contributions from the density parameters of the various species
Such a simple premise is an elegant one, particularly when con- of energy contributors, such that,
sidering that the introduction of negative mass adds symmetry to
the Universe. Nevertheless, a theory of negative mass is compli- ΩM+ + ΩM− + Ωr + ΩΛ = Ω, (4)
cated to assess in relation to other known cosmological results –
which have overwhelmingly been developed with the implicit where Ω = 1 − Ωk and the density contributions Ωi include
assumption that mass is only positive. For these reasons, nearly positive masses M+, negative masses M−, radiation r, curva-
all theories, experiments, observations, and physical interpreta- ture k, and the cosmological constant Λ. By definition, ΩM− is
tions need to be rigorously revisited. However, if negative mass necessarily negative or zero-valued. In the conventional Λ cold
is a conceptual blindspot that is stopping us from developing a dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology (e.g. Planck Collaboration XVI
more advanced theory of the Universe, then such elaborations 2014; Planck Collaboration XIII 2016), it is implicitly assumed
can clearly be fruitful. In this paper, I therefore attempt to test that ΩM− = 0 and explicitly assumed that ΩΛ > 0. Moreover, ΩM+
whether Einstein’s insight could be correct, and what the conse- (usually given the standard notation ΩM ) is typically separated
quent implications would be for modern cosmology. into additional constituents, such as Ωb for baryons and ΩCDM
The paper is structured as follows: in Sect. 2, I modify general for cold dark matter. To date, no attempt has been made to dis-
relativity to consider the theory of a negative mass cosmology. cern negative mass contributions from observations of the cosmic
In Sect. 3, I present three-dimensional N-body simulations of microwave background (CMB; e.g. Planck Collaboration XIV
positive and negative masses using 50 000 particles. In Sect. 4, I 2016).
consider any potential compatibility between cosmological obser- In the case of a matter-dominated universe (which has Ωr =
vations of distant supernovae, the cosmic microwave background, ΩΛ = 0) that includes negative masses, there are three possi-
and galaxy clusters with the negative mass hypothesis. Section 5 bilities: (i) a positive-mass dominated cosmology with |ΩM+ | >
provides a speculative discussion on outstanding theoretical con- |ΩM− |, (ii) a massless cosmology with |ΩM+ | = |ΩM− |, and (iii)
siderations that can be explored in the future, and in Sect. 6, I a negative-mass dominated cosmology with |ΩM+ | < |ΩM− |.
provide a summary of the results. Eqs. (1)–(3) can therefore be solved for each of these three cases.

2. Theoretical results 2.1. Positive mass cosmology

To understand the cosmological implications of negative masses, The positive mass dominated cosmology with |ΩM+ | > |ΩM− |
I begin with Einstein’s field equations, corresponds to the standard matter-dominated universe solutions
with a critical density given by ρc = 3H 2 /8πG and a total density
(1) parameter given by Ω = ρ/ρc , where Ω = 1, < 1, and > 1, corre-
1 8πG
Rµν − Rgµν + Λgµν = 4 T µν ,
2 c spond to critical density, open, and closed universes respectively
(e.g. Friedmann 1924).
where Rµν is the Ricci curvature tensor, R is the scalar curvature,
The key difference to a conventional matter-dominated cos-
gµν is the metric tensor, Λ is the cosmological constant, G is
mology is that the Friedmann equation is modified to,
Newton’s gravitational constant, c is the speed of light in vacuum,
and T µν is the stress–energy tensor.  ȧ 2 8πG
Assuming a homogeneous and isotopic universe via the = ( ρ+ + ρ− ) , (5)
Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW) metric, and a 3
assuming that the stress–energy tensor is that of a perfect fluid,
Eq. (1) can be used to derive the Friedmann equation, where |ρ+ | > |ρ− | and Ω = ( ρ+ + ρ− )/ρc . In this new context the
meaning of the critical density is not clear. Typically, the critical
 ȧ 2 8πG Λc2 kc2 density is the specific value of positive mass density at which
= ρ+ − 2, (2) the universe will not expand forever and will also not recollapse.
a 3 3 a
This meaning remains broadly unchanged for a negative mass
and the Friedmann acceleration equation, cosmology, with the sole caveat that ρc now becomes the net
density required to prevent both eternal expansion and recollapse.
Λc 2
!
ä 4πG 3p This can be illustrated by observing that a critical density universe
=− ρ+ 2 + , (3)
a 3 c 3 corresponds to ( ρ+ + ρ− ) = ρc .
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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

2.2. Massless cosmology mass fluid would undergo an expansion that is characterised by a
uniform stretching as detailed in Appendix A. However, in this
The massless cosmology with |ΩM+ | = |ΩM− | is equivalent to an Section we are concerned with the cosmological evolution of an
empty universe. Observations clearly indicate that the Universe expanding space.
is not empty. However, if the Universe contains equal quantities For a matter-dominated cosmology with Λ = 0, purely via
of positive and negative masses then this is not an unphysical inspection of Eq. (2), it is clear that if ρ is negative, there can only
solution – the Universe can have zero mass on large-scales. This be physical solutions when k = −1. The negative mass cosmology
is equivalent to setting T µν = 0 in Eqs. (1), ρ = 0 in Eqs. (2)–(3), therefore has negatively curved spatial sections. We can rewrite
and Ω = 0. The consequences have been previously studied both the Friedmann equation as
directly and indirectly.
Tryon (1973) demonstrated that sufficient negative mass  ȧ 2 8πG c2
energy in the Universe would naturally allow for the creation = H2 = ρ− + 2 · (6)
a 3 a
of a cosmos from nothing – with the Big Bang then being an
energy-conserving event. The Universe could then be a zero mass, For a matter-dominated cosmology with a cosmological
zero energy, system. In quantum field theory, every event that constant, if ρ is negative and Λ > 0, it can be possible that
could happen in principle actually does happen occasionally in a k = −1, 0, +1. In the alternative case, where ρ is negative and
probabilistic manner. This allows for the spontaneous and tem- Λ < 0, there can again only be physical solutions when k = −1.
porary emergence of particles from the vacuum in the form of In both cases
vacuum fluctuations. In essence, particles can borrow energy from
the vacuum to come into existence for a brief period, as long as ΩM+ + (ΩM− + ΩΛ ) = 1 − Ωk , (7)
that energy is repaid. This process can be described through the
and so it can be seen that a degeneracy exists between ΩM− and
uncertainty principle, ∆E∆t ∼ ~/2, which leads to the natural
ΩΛ such that Ωdegen = ΩM− + ΩΛ . In this case, a degeneracy
consequence that our Universe could simply be a vacuum fluctua-
is meant in the sense that one can change both parameters and
tion that has zero energy and can therefore exist eternally. This
leave their sum unchanged. In a conventional ΛCDM cosmology,
implies that our Universe is just one of those things that happen
where ΩM− is taken to be zero, one is actually measuring Ωdegen
on occasion, and we can simply think of its existence as being
and could therefore falsely infer a cosmological constant instead
illustrated by a 1 billion-σ statistical event. In Tryon (1973), this
of a negative density parameter.
negative energy was suggested to be the gravitational potential
It is typically assumed that ΩM− and ΩΛ can be discrimi-
energy from a positive mass due to its interaction with the rest of
nated based upon the equation of state for a perfect fluid. For
the Universe, although a negative mass energy can achieve the
non-relativistic matter, ω = 0, whereas for a true cosmological
same function.
constant, ω = −1. In other words, negative mass matter is con-
A massless cosmology with negative masses has also been
ventionally assumed to dilute in density as the Universe expands,
considered before (Benoit-Lévy & Chardin 2012). This cosmol-
whereas the cosmological constant remains constant. From obser-
ogy has symmetric quantities of matter and antimatter, in which
vations, the equation of state parameter for the Ωdegen component
antimatter is hypothesised to have negative gravitational mass,
is close to −1 (e.g. Planck Collaboration XVI 2014). This is typ-
thereby leading to gravitational repulsion between matter and anti-
ically interpreted as evidence for mysterious dark energy, the
matter. The cancellation of positive and negative masses yields
physical properties of which remain unknown.
an effectively empty space-time known as the Dirac–Milne uni-
verse. In this cosmology, the scale factor evolves linearly with
time, thereby directly solving the age and horizon problems of a 2.3.1. Matter creation
matter-dominated universe so that inflation is no longer required.
While this is an elegant solution, such a cosmology would vio- I have demonstrated that the degeneracy between negative mass
late the weak equivalence principle and therefore appears to be matter and a cosmological constant can typically be broken using
inconsistent with general relativity (Bondi 1957). Furthermore, the equation of state parameter, ω. However, I now consider the
if negative mass particles were antimatter, one would expect consequences if matter is continuously created in the Universe.
positive–negative mass collisions to give rise to a diffuse gamma Such matter creation is not a new concept and was previously
ray background, which is not observed. Some of the earliest invoked to describe the disproven steady-state theory of the Uni-
descriptions of antimatter did consider those particles to have a verse (Bondi & Gold 1948; Hoyle 1960). In this theory, new mat-
negative mass, and for collisions to result in a release of energy ter is continuously-created in order to keep the average density
(e.g. Schuster 1898). However, it has also been suggested that constant as particles move apart due to the expansion of the Uni-
the collision of negative and positive masses would result in verse. This steady-state theory is inconsistent with observations,
nullification (Forward 1990). as it cannot explain the cosmic microwave background or radio
These former works have demonstrated that the introduction source counts. However, the creation term has only ever been
of negative mass to cosmology has the capacity to completely applied to positive mass matter, and so may still be useful for
cancel the energy budget of the Universe. Nevertheless, this pre- understanding dark energy and matter in an expanding Universe.
cise cancellation is not a necessity, and is rather a special case. A Matter creation has been explored more recently in terms
matter-dominated universe could predominantly consist of pos- of particle production at the expense of a gravitational field
itive masses (as for the familiar case presented in Sect. 2.1), or (Prigogine et al. 1988). I now calculate the implications for nega-
could be dominated by negative masses. tive masses. One plausible approach is to model the cosmological
solutions for “adiabatic” particle production in the presence of
2.3. Negative mass cosmology spatial curvature or an equivalent “fluid”. For creation of matter,
we can modify Einstein’s equations to include a creation term or
The negative mass dominated cosmology with |ΩM+ | < |ΩM− | cor- a C-field to the effective energy–momentum tensor,
responds to a universe that is less than empty. This is equivalent
to setting T µν < 0 or ρ < 0. In a non-expanding space, a negative T µν = T µν + Cµν ,
0
(8)

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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

where T µν is the energy–momentum tensor for a fluid with equa- will be able to determine what drives the creation rate. However,
tion of state p = (γ − 1)ρ such that within this model the creation rate Γ can vary as both a function
of space and time. When varying as a function of time, Γ(t)
T µν = ( ρ + p)uµ uν + pgµν , (9) potentially gives rise to a time-varying Hubble parameter and a
time-varying cosmological constant. When varying as a function
and Cµν is the energy–momentum tensor which corresponds to
of space, this gives rise to an inhomogeneous distribution of
the matter creation term, such that
ωeff throughout the universe. For example, one could imagine
Cµν = PC (gµν + uµ uν ). (10) spatial pockets of negative mass with particularly high or low
creation rates. This would give rise to an inhomogeneous and
Einstein’s field equations are therefore modified to anisotropic distribution of expansion speeds across the sky that
varies around individual voids in the galaxy distribution, and
1 8πG  
Rµν − Rgµν + Λgµν = 4 T µν + Cµν , (11) which could therefore be tested using observational data. This
2 c can be done by looking at the measured galaxy distribution using
and the two fluids interact to provide an effective equation of upcoming radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometre Array
state p = ωeff ρ (e.g. Pan et al. 2016). The resulting field equa- (SKA) and its pathfinders and precursors in combination with
tions do not just describe space and matter, but now also include future optical and infrared surveys such as Euclid and LSST (e.g.
creation. The creation tensor cancels the matter density and pres- Maartens et al. 2015). Future studies will be able to determine
sure, leaving just the overall effective form of the vacuum tensor. whether there is matter creation taking place and to investigate in
The sources of the creation tensor are places where matter is more detail any influence that Γ could have on the ultimate fate
created (or destroyed). The Cµν term has previously been used to of the Universe.
suggest an alternative theory of gravity (Hoyle & Narlikar 1964), The continuous-creation of negative masses implies that the
however such a field was suggested to be incompatible with an universe would be taking on an increasingly negative energy state.
expanding universe unless matter with negative inertial and gravi- I note that this negative energy is not created all at once in a
tational mass were to exist (Hawking 1965). cataclysmic event, but is steadily created at the rate given by Γ.
For a FLRW metric in which matter creation is taking place, This could be interpreted as the vacuum instability being a real,
Eq. (3) is modified to include an additional term due to creation physical, phenomena. In other words, rather than positive mass
pressure, which is related to gravitationally induced adiabatic matter collapsing into an infinitely negative energy state, this
particle production by cosmology results in the continuous creation of (potentially real
or virtual) particles with negative energy. Such speculations can
−Γ be considered more rigorously in future works.
PC = (p + ρ), (12)
3H
where PC is the matter creation pressure, Γ(t) is the creation rate 2.3.2. Equivalence with the cosmological constant
or more specifically the rate of change of the particle number
in a physical volume V containing N particles (Pan et al. 2016; Let us now consider the case of negative masses that are being
Paliathanasis et al. 2017). By assuming that the fluid component constantly created. These negative masses gravitationally repel
of Eqs. (2) and (3) behaves as a perfect fluid with an equation of each other – thereby pushing apart structures in the universe. I
state given by p = (γ − 1)ρ, then Paliathanasis et al. (2017) show showed in Sect. 2.3.1 that a constant creation rate of Γ = 3H
that the relation between ωeff and the particle creation rate Γ is provides ω = −1. Negative masses that are being constantly cre-
given by ated therefore do not undergo the typical dilution as the universe
expands, as would be the case for normal matter which conven-
Γ tionally has ω = 0. In fact, these continuously-created negative
!
P
ωeff = = −1 + γ 1 − , (13) masses appear to resemble dark energy.
ρ 3H
There is therefore a strong degeneracy between ΩM− and
where P = p + PC , and γ is a constant. This has an important ΩΛ , as discussed in Sect. 2.3. This degeneracy is present in the
consequence as it shows that during matter creation, the equation supernovae observations of an accelerating Universe (see Sect. 4).
of state parameter is related to the particle creation rate. Hence, I am arguing that these negative masses are created at such a
different effective fluids and different gravitational effects can rate that they retain – on large scales – a constant density. I can
be provided by varying Γ. In other words, the creation of matter therefore modify Friedmann’s equation to
modifies the equation of state parameter. For a constant creation
rate of Γ = 3H, one obtains ω = −1. The introduction of matter
 ȧ 2 8πG kc2
= (ρ+ + ρ− ) − 2 · (14)
creation can therefore yield an equation of state equivalent to a a 3 a
cosmological constant.
It is worth noting that the equation of state parameter of this As ρ− is constant, I can define Λ = 8πGρ− /c , thereby obtaining
2

space-time fluid, ωeff , can actually take on many values depending  ȧ 2 8πG Λc2 kc2
on the precise rate of matter creation, and it is only constrained = ρ+ + − 2· (15)
to exactly equal −1 when Γ = 3H. Only when the creation of a 3 3 a
negative masses sustains itself at a very specific rate does it serve This is the standard Friedmann equation given in Eq. (2). In con-
to provide a constant density as a function of time and thus a clusion, I have shown that constantly-created negative masses are
cosmological constant with ωeff = −1. If the creation of negative a natural explanation for the cosmological constant. The physi-
masses is occurring too slowly to replenish the density, which is cal properties of negative masses that were undergoing constant
steadily decreasing through mutual repulsion and the expansion creation would be rather similar to the accepted and inferred prop-
of the universe, then ωeff > −1. If the density of negative masses is erties of the cosmological constant. Within this toy model, Λ can
increasing as a function of time, then we obtain a phantom energy now be interpreted as the neglected negative mass content of the
model with ωeff < −1. Further study of the creation term Cµν Universe, rather than as some mysterious extra term. As these
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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

negative masses can take the form of a cosmological constant, Eq. (19) as
one can deduce that they are a property of the vacuum rather than r r 
non-relativistic matter in the conventional sense. In summary, the −3  −Λc2 1 
t0 = arctan   · (20)
Λc2

field equations are modified to 3 H0 
1 8πG  + 
For H0 = 67 km s−1 Mpc−1 = 2.17 × 10−18 s−1 and |Λ| ≈ 0.3 ×
Rµν − Rgµν = 4 T µν + T µν
−
+ Cµν , (16)
2 c 10−52 m−2 , then the age of the universe would be ∼13.8 Gyr.
where the conventional Λgµν term is now represented by a combi- While this appears to be compatible with observations of our
− own Universe, there are several notable caveats that could either
nation of T µν (an exotic matter term) and Cµν (a modified gravity extend or shorten the calculated age. In the presented toy model,
term). Λ can itself be a function of time, which could drastically alter the
results. The fundamental change of including negative masses into
2.3.3. Solutions to the Friedmann equation the Universe would also require reinterpretation of the standard
observational results – which may in turn adjust the values of
I showed in Sect. 2.3.2 that Λ can be modelled as a constant both H0 and Λ.
density of negative masses, which remain constant via matter One notable point of interest is that the derived AdS space
creation. If I consider the positive mass matter as negligible, we corresponds to one of the most researched areas of string the-
have the Friedmann equation ory, the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory correspondence
(Maldacena 1999). String theories naturally require the com-
 ȧ 2 Λc2 kc2
= − 2, (17) pactification of six dimensional Calabi–Yau spaces onto AdS
a 3 a backgrounds, meaning onto space-times with negative Λ (e.g.
Prokopec 2011), and it has therefore remained puzzling why cos-
where Λ = 8πGρ− /c2 . As by definition ρ− < 0, it must also be
mological observations have not provided evidence for Λ < 0.
the case that Λ < 0. It is clear that for Λ < 0, Eq. (17) can only be
In the proposed toy model, Λ < 0 also seems to be able to
satisfied when k = −1. The solution for the scale-factor is given
explain the flat rotation curves observed in galaxies, as detailed
by
in Sect. 2.3.4. The existence of AdS space implies that string
r r
 −Λc2 
 theory may possibly be directly applicable to our Universe. I
−3
a(t) = sin  t , (18) note that this cyclic universe does not violate the positive energy
Λc2 3  theorem of Witten (1981), which approximately states that it is
not possible to construct an object out of ordinary matter (with
together with a Hubble parameter given by positive local energy density), that has a total energy which is
r r  negative. The positive energy theorem has also been extended to
−Λc2  −Λc2  AdS space-time (Abbott & Deser 1982; Gibbons et al. 1983).
H(t) = cot   t , (19)
3 3  Another interesting result is that the theory directly predicts a
time-variable Hubble parameter, which may be consistent with
which corresponds to an Anti-de Sitter space (AdS) with a time- recent cosmological measurements (Efstathiou 2014; Riess et al.
variable Hubble parameter. This AdS universe undergoes p a cycle 2016; Bonvin et al. 2017). Nevertheless, in this scenario, esti-
of expansion and contraction with a timescale of −3π2 /Λc2 . mates of H from the CMB would likely be strongly affected
This is as a negative value of Λ, if interpreted as vacuum energy, through modelling the CMB data with a flat ΛCDM model uni-
corresponds to a negative energy density (Hawking & Page 1982). verse. I note that I have here only considered the effects upon a
This is a counterintuitive result, as although the negative masses cosmology dominated by Λ and k. Although beyond the scope
are gravitationally repelling one another, the cosmological effect of this current paper, consideration of a more physical universe –
appears to be for the negative energy associated with negative that also includes ρ+ – may considerably adjust the cosmological
masses to cause the universe to recollapse. The solution describes behaviour at early times and the precise form of a time-variable
an open universe which expands from a Big Bang, reaches a Hubble parameter. Such scenarios can be explored further in
maxima, and then recontracts to a Big Crunch. This appears to future works.
be an elegant outcome – by introducing negative masses that
undergo continuous creation, one obtains a cyclic cosmology. 2.3.4. Flattening of galaxy rotation curves
Even with the addition of positive mass matter, a universe with
a negative cosmological constant would eventually recollapse I now consider the localised properties of positive masses that are
due to this extra attractive force. Interestingly, the value of Λ is immersed in a negative mass fluid. Such a scenario will clearly
necessarily finely-tuned – if the magnitude of Λ is too large, then have an effect on the dynamics of positive masses and the subse-
the universe will not exist for sufficient time to create observers. quent evolution of a positive mass system. This thereby allows
For a cosmological constant of similar magnitude to that which us to consider the implications for the dynamics of galaxies and
is currently interpreted from cosmological observations, |Λ| ≈ similar structures.
0.3 × 10−52 m−2 , the lifetime of each cycle of the universe would The standard galaxy rotation scenario can be described as the
be ∼105 Gyr. In an epoch ∼14 Gyr after a Big Bang, the universe case where a positive mass test particle, of mass M+ , is located at
would therefore be observed to be in an expanding phase. The a distance r from the galactic centre. The galaxy has the majority
continuous negative mass matter creation would cause objects in of its mass, M? , concentrated at the centre. I consider this system
this universe to be gravitationally accelerated apart, but only on a from an observing frame where the positive mass particle is
local level. In late-times, this cyclic cosmology with AdS space seen to be rotating with an orbital velocity, v, about an axis of
collapses due to its negative energy. rotation through the centre of the galaxy. For a stable circular
One could also attempt to calculate the age of the universe orbit, the gravitational force (which acts inwardly towards the
in this cosmology, which can be conveniently estimated from orbital centre) is equal to the centripetal force (which is related to
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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

the component of the velocity acting tangentially to the orbital

path). This provides the simple equation
GM+ M? M+ v 2
= · (21)
r2 r
By rearranging Eq. (21), I obtain
r
GM?
v= , (22)
r
which is the standard Keplerian rotation curve whereby the
orbital velocity of a test particle should decrease as a function of
increased radius. Nevertheless, very few galaxies show any evi-
dence for such a Keplerian rotation curve. Hα and radio HI obser-
vations of galaxies both indicate that rotation curves remain essen-
tially flat out to several tens of kpc, providing strong evidence Fig. 2. Predicted circular velocity as a function of radius, for a galaxy
for the existence of dark matter (Rubin & Ford 1970; Rubin et al. of similar size and mass to the Milky Way and that is influenced by a
1980, 1985). cosmological constant. The displayed rotation curves are for increasing
I now construct an alternative model for the galaxy rotation magnitudes of a positive (in blue) and a negative (in red) cosmological
scenario, that also includes a cosmological constant. In this case, constant. The Keplerian curve with Λ = 0 is also shown (in black).
the same setup exists as in the standard galaxy rotation scenario. Whereas a positive cosmological constant steepens the decline of a
However, I also now assume that the positive mass galaxy is rotation curve, a negative cosmological constant flattens the rotation
surrounded by a halo of continuously-created negative masses, curve, causing a steady increase at larger galactic radii. Solid body
with constant density ρ− and of total mass M− . The positive mass rotation in the centre of the galaxy is not shown.
test particle is now immersed in a negative mass fluid that, as
shown in Sect. 2.3.2, behaves with resemblance to a cosmological Again, we can see that for Λ = 0, we obtain the standard Keple-
constant with Λ = 8πGρ− /c2 . rian rotation curve. However, for non-zero values of the cosmo-
In the limit of small velocity, v  c, and in the weak field logical constant, the rotation curve is modified. The modification
approximation, Einstein’s field equations should reproduce New- of the rotation curve for increasing magnitudes of positive and
tonian gravity. We can therefore examine the Newtonian limit negative Λ in a galaxy with mass and size similar to the Milky
of the field equations in the case of a non-zero cosmological Way is shown in Fig. 2. For a negative cosmological constant, the
constant. We can define rotation curve clearly increases√linearly towards the outskirts of a
Λc 2 galaxy, such that v ∝ (|Λ|1/2 c/ 3)r. This appears consistent with
ρvac = , (23) observational results, and previous studies have found that most
4πG
rotation curves are rising slowly even at the farthest measured
so that the Poisson equation for gravity is given by point (Rubin et al. 1980). The data again appear to be consistent
∇2 φ = 4πGρ+ − 4πGρvac = 4πGρ+ − Λc2 , (24) with a negative cosmological constant. I emphasise that the rota-
tion curves are being affected by the local negative mass density,
where φ is the scalar potential and ρ+ is the positive mass density. which can coalesce into halo-like structures (see Sect. 3.1). The
If we set φ = 0 at the origin and assume spherical symmetry, then inferred value of Λ in the vicinity of galaxies is therefore expected
Eq. (24) has the solution to be of larger magnitude than the cosmological constant inferred
from cosmological expansion. In other words, although a specific
GM? Λc2 2
φ(r) = − − r , (25) large-scale constant rate of particle creation is required to enable
r 6 a ωeff = −1 universe, the resulting particle density in intergalactic
which gives the potential at distance r from a central point mass space would likely be less than the amount of negative masses
M? . In the case where Λ = 0, we retrieve the standard potential that would be required to balance a galaxy rotation curve. Hence,
for Newton’s law of gravitation. The force exerted on a particle more generally the solution for the rotation curve is given by
of mass m is related to the scalar potential by F = −m∇φ, which r
yields GM? 8πGρ− 2
v= − r , (29)
r 3
∂ ∂ GM? Λc2 2 GM? m Λc2
" #
F = −m φ = −m − − r =− + mr. where ρ− is the local negative mass density.
∂r ∂r r 6 r2 3 I note that the presented solutions, which require a steeply-
(26) rising linear rotation curve, are only applicable for a strongly
negative Λ. Figure 2 demonstrates that for a slightly negative Λ,
We can therefore modify Eq. (21) to provide the increase in velocity is just able to overcome the Keplerian
mv 2
GM? m Λc 2 decline, such that the rotation curve remains essentially flat as a
= 2
− mr, (27) function of distance.
r r 3 Although the majority of observed rotation curves are largely
which by rearrangement, leads to the solution for the rotation flat, there is some observational evidence that rotation curves can
curve continue to rise out to large galactocentric radii (e.g. Rubin et al.
r 1980). However, there are also reasons why the theoretical rota-
GM? Λc2 2 tion curves may generally appear to rise more rapidly than is
v= − r · (28)
r 3 often seen in observations. The presented toy model is just a
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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

simple case, which demonstrates the change to a rotation curve by this negative mass halo pushing inwards on the positive mass
enacted by a negative mass halo. There are several simplifying galaxy leads to a flat galaxy rotation curve. In Sect. 3.3, I demon-
assumptions that have been made: (i) the positive mass within a strate that a mix of positive and negative mass material can result
galaxy is not concentrated at a central point and has a radially- in structure formation. An initially uniform distribution of both
dependent mass profile, (ii) a typical galaxy has separate bulge, positive and negative masses leads to the conventional filamen-
halo, and disk components which are not modelled here, and tary and void-like structures observed in standard large-scale
(iii) the local negative mass density may be asymmetric and itself structure simulations. Moreover, the positive mass component
has a radial mass distribution. In order to fit observational rotation of these simulations naturally becomes surrounded by negative
curve data, these additional factors would all need to be modelled mass material – leading to ubiquitous dark matter haloes for every
in further detail. This would then be able to either validate or astrophysical object. In Sect. 3.4, I describe the constraints on
rule out the proposed cosmology (and the existence of a negative runaway motion that are provided by the simulations.
cosmological constant). However, we consider this fitting process
to be beyond the scope of this current paper.
3.1. Formation of a dark matter halo
Interestingly, a solution that invoked a negative cosmo-
logical constant as an explanation for flat galaxy rotation In the first set of simulations, a positive mass galaxy is located at
curves has been considered before by Whitehouse & Kraniotis the centre of the initial particle distribution. This positive mass
(1999) and Kraniotis et al. (2001), but was dismissed by galaxy is initialised with spherical-symmetry and following the
Bergstrom & Danielsson (2000) on the basis that it appeared conventional Hernquist model, with a scale radius equal to 1.0
incompatible with observations of supernovae. In Sect. 4, a pro- (Hernquist 1990). The Hernquist model is used to set the initial
posal is made to provide reconciliation between a negative cos- particle positions and velocities of the positive masses. The veloc-
mological constant and the supernovae results. ities consist of a radial component and are also built hot, with a
velocity dispersion provided by a small Gaussian component with
a standard deviation of 0.3. The galaxy comprises 5000 particles,
3. N-body simulations with a total positive mass of M+ = 1.0. The initial positive mass
One of the most effective manners of testing a physical hypoth- particle distribution is located at the centre of a cube of negative
esis related to particle interactions is via N-body simulations. masses with volume 2003 . The initial conditions of these negative
Most modern N-body software packages do not support exotic masses are set to be uniformly distributed in position and with
and rarely-studied phenomena such as negative masses. I have zero initial velocity. The negative mass sea comprises 45 000 par-
therefore written new software to perform three-dimensional ticles, with a total mass of M− = −3.0. The simulation is scaled
(3D) gravitational N-body simulations using python, numpy, and such that the positive mass galaxy has similar properties to the
matplotlib. The code is parallelised using dask in order to make Milky Way, with a characteristic radius of 15 kpc and a mass of
use of the multiple processing cores available in most modern 5.8 × 1011 M . The simulation consequently runs over 21.5 Gyr
machines. The N-body code used here evaluates the particle posi- with a timestep of 35.9 Myr. Each side of the box of negative
tions and velocities at each timestep by using direct methods, masses has a length of 3 Mpc. Assuming spherical particles, each
thereby avoiding the introduction of any approximations and of the 45 000 negative masses therefore has an initial descriptive
maintaining the highest accuracy – albeit at the cost of substantial radius equivalent to 52 kpc between each particle.
computing time, of the order of O(N 2 ) per timestep. The primary The resulting particle distribution from this simulation is
motivation for this computational perspective is not focussed on shown in Fig. 3. The full animated video from this simulation is
performance, but rather on providing easily-understandable, open- available online. The negative masses at the outskirts of the cube
source software. This enables the presented results to be easily are mutually-repelled by other surrounding negative masses and
replicated and verified on any scientist’s own machine, rather the cube begins to expand in volume, as discussed in Sect. 2.3.
than requiring any specialised hardware or software setup. The Meanwhile, the negative masses within the central portion of the
simulations presented here are therefore necessarily primitive in cube are attracted towards the positive mass galaxy. From their
comparison with the state-of-the-art (e.g. Springel et al. 2005), initially zero velocities, the negative mass particles are slushed to-
but provide examples that demonstrate what can be expected from and-fro from either side of the positive mass galaxy. Eventually,
such a toy model. Unless stated otherwise, all of the simulations the negative mass particles reach dynamic equilibrium in a halo
use a total of 50 000 particles. I use standard N-body units, with that surrounds the positive mass galaxy and which extends out to
G = 1.0 and a total positive mass M+ = 1.0. A softening parame- several galactic radii. The negative mass particles have naturally
ter of  = 0.07 was also used. Due to computational reasons, no formed a dark matter halo.
matter creation was included in the current simulations4 . Observations of galaxies typically indicate an approximately
The simulations are presented in Sects. 3.1–3.3. In Sect. 3.1, constant dark matter density in the inner parts of galaxies, while
I demonstrate that in the presence of negative mass material a conventional cosmological simulations of positive mass dark mat-
positive mass galaxy naturally forms a dark matter halo with a ter indicate a steep power-law-like behaviour. This is known as
radius that is several times larger than the positive mass com- the core–cusp problem or the cuspy halo problem and is cur-
ponent. Furthermore, due to the mutually-repulsive nature of rently unsolved (de Blok 2010). The negative mass halo that has
negative masses, the formed halo is not cuspy. This provides a formed in the simulations presented here can be clearly seen in
resolution of the cuspy-halo problem (e.g. de Blok 2010), and the simulations to have a flat central dark matter distribution. The
to my knowledge makes negative masses the only dark matter typically assumed positive mass particles that are used in con-
candidate that can provide a non-contrived solution. In Sect. 3.2, ventional simulations are gravitationally attractive and thereby
I show that – in the simulations – the gravitational force exerted accumulate into a sharp cusp. However, negative mass particles
are self-interacting and gravitationally repulsive – thereby yield-
4
While no matter creation is included in the simulations, this would ing a flat inner density profile. To demonstrate this, the extracted
only serve to add additional negative masses, which in most cases would density profile from the simulations is shown in Fig. 4. It is worth
only further strengthen the results. noting that the precise form of the density profile will be further

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J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

Fig. 3. N-body simulations showing the for-

mation of a non-cuspy dark matter halo from
an initially motionless particle distribution of
45 000 negative masses (in purple), that sur-
round a Hernquist-model galaxy of 5000 pos-
itive masses (in yellow). Both the initial (top
panel) and the final (bottom panel) time-steps
are shown. An animated video from this simula-
tion is available online.

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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

Fig. 4. Magnitude of the density profile as a function of radius from the Fig. 5. Circular velocity, vcirc , as a function of radius, r, as extracted
galactic centre, as extracted from the N-body simulations. The density from the N-body simulations. The rotation curves shown are: (i) for a
profiles shown are: (i) as empirically determined for a negative mass positive mass galaxy consisting of 5000 particles (in black), and (ii) for
cosmology from the N-body simulations (in blue), (ii) for a NFW profile an identical positive mass galaxy with identical initial conditions, albeit
(in dark red), and (iii) for an observationally motivated Burkert profile now surrounded by an initially uniform distribution of 45 000 negative
(in light red). The negative mass density profile is calculated in equally- mass particles (in red). The rotation curves are plotted using a moving
spaced radial bins, with the measurements indicated by data points and average for each set of 50 particles – the means and standard errors in vcirc
overplotted with a moving average to guide the eye. The simulated for these particles are indicated by the solid lines and the shaded areas
dark matter halo is non-cuspy and best described by the Burkert profile. respectively. The rotation of the galaxy that consists of only positive
Beyond the radius of the negative mass halo, the radial profile of the mass clearly drops off following a Keplerian curve. Nevertheless, the
diffuse negative mass background becomes visible. The sharp cut-off to galaxy with a negative mass halo has an essentially flat rotation curve
the density profile at the edge of the halo may be further modified by that is slowly rising out to large galactic radii.
matter creation. Negative masses can therefore simply reproduce the key
features of observed dark matter density profiles in real galaxies.
galaxy is setup as a kinematically cold system with no velocity
dispersion and only a circular, orbital, velocity component. The
modified by matter creation. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the rotation curve was first measured from a simulation with an
simulated negative mass density profile is shown and compared initial particle distribution that consisted solely of 5000 positive
to both the cuspy Navarro–Frenk–White (NFW) profile derived masses in a Hernquist model galaxy. The resulting rotation curve
from standard N-body simulations with positive mass dark matter is indicated by the black line in Fig. 5. The rotation curve for the
(e.g. Navarro et al. 1997), and to the non-cuspy, observationally positive mass galaxy clearly follows a Keplerian curve, with solid
motivated, Burkert density profile (Burkert 1995). The Burkert body rotation within the scale radius of the galaxy5 , followed
profile is clearly a much better representation of the simulated by a steady decline. The rotation curve was then also measured
dark matter halo than the NFW profile. A negative mass cosmol- from another simulation with an identical particle distribution
ogy can therefore provide a solution to the cuspy halo problem. for the 5000 positive masses, but now also surrounded by 45 000
This appears to be the only cosmological theory within the scien- initially uniformly distributed negative masses. The resulting
tific literature that can explain and predict the distribution of dark rotation curve is indicated by the red line in Fig. 5. The rotation
matter in galaxies from first principles. curve for this positive mass galaxy with a negative mass halo also
As the halo consists of negative mass particles, this will screen exhibits solid body rotation within the scale radius of the galaxy,
the positive mass galaxy from long-range gravitational interac- but then appears to slowly increase, remaining essentially flat
tions. This is similar to the screening effects that are seen in out to several galactic radii albeit with a slight positive incline. I
electrical plasmas with positive and negative charges, except this emphasise that the only difference between these two simulations
is a gravitational plasma with positive and negative masses. The is that one contains only positive mass matter, whereas the other
negative mass sheath surrounding a typical galaxy effectively contains both positive mass matter and a negative mass halo. The
begins to shield the positive mass from external gravitational negative masses have flattened the rotation curve of the galaxy.
effects. The result is that in a negative mass dominated cosmol- The inclusion of matter creation would be able to provide full
ogy, positive mass galaxies would gravitationally attract each dynamic equilibrium. Theoretical considerations that explain how
other and merge at a slower rate than in a conventional ΛCDM negative masses can flatten the rotation curves of galaxies are
cosmology. detailed in Sect. 2.3.4.

3.2. Flattened rotation curves 3.3. Structure formation

The rotation curves of galaxies have been shown to remain essen- In a universe filled with both positive and negative masses, one
tially flat out to several tens of kpc. This relation has been may raise the interesting question of whether the formation
demonstrated using both Hα observations (Rubin & Ford 1970; of large-scale structures could possibly take place. In standard
Rubin et al. 1980) and radio HI observations (Bosma 1981). We structure formation simulations, a uniform distribution of posi-
can therefore attempt to measure the effect that negative masses tive mass particles is allowed to evolve. Small initial over- and
have on the rotation curves of galaxies.
I use similar initial conditions as in Sect. 3.1. However, in 5
A solid disk rotates such that the velocity increases linearly with
order to reliably measure the rotation curve, the positive mass radius.

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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

under-densities in the particle distribution develop into filaments more importantly, observations provide evidence for significant
and voids similar to those seen in observations (e.g. Springel et al. numbers of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays which are known to be
2005). The same process may therefore occur when negative extragalactic in origin, although the mechanism of their produc-
masses are included. To test this hypothesis, simulations are setup tion remains a mystery (Pierre Auger Collaboration 2017). From
within a cube-shaped region of volume 2003 . Particles are located this perspective, runaway motion is not a challenge for negative
within this arbitrarily-sized region: 25 000 positive mass and a mass models, but is rather a useful observational constraint.
further 25 000 negative mass particles – with the x, y, and z coor- The idea that all negative masses in a universe should form
dinates of every particle being drawn from a uniform distribution. gravitational dipoles and accelerate to high energies is not sup-
The total mass within the cube is 0.0, with total positive and neg- ported by the simulations presented here (which have a limited
ative masses of +1.0 and −1.0 respectively. The initial velocities number of particles), in which no runaway particles can be iden-
of all particles were equal to zero. The simulation is scaled such tified. While runaway motion is a legitimate physical facet of
that each side of the box has a length of 200 Mpc. The simulation negative mass particle interactions, the simulations indicate that
runs over 21.5 Gyr with a timestep of 35.9 Myr. This provides a this behaviour is only common for idealised particle pairs and
coarse mass resolution of 1.7 × 1017 M ≈ 300 000 Milky Ways occurs more rarely as a bulk behaviour within a negative mass
per particle. fluid. This is likely as the particles in such a fluid are subject to
The resulting particle distribution from this simulation is numerous counteracting forces from the surrounding medium.
shown in Fig. 6. The full animated video from this simulation is One can assume that some amount of runaway particles must
available online. As the simulation progresses, structure includ- still exist, although these would likely be highly scattered by
ing filaments and voids clearly begin to be formed. Similarly Brownian motion (e.g. Landis 1991).
to Sect. 3.1, the negative masses again naturally surround the One possibility is that the softening parameter in our simula-
positive masses, providing ubiquitous dark matter haloes. The tions, , which affects short range interactions, could be prevent-
initial particle distribution has formed a complex network that ing the formation of polarised mass dipoles that undergo runaway
comprises filaments, voids, and rich clusters. From these early motion. To test this, the simulations were rerun with  = 0.0.
simulations, it is unclear which is the predominant effect: the addi- However, no runaway particles were detected in these simula-
tional pressure from the negative masses being attracted towards tions and the computational results remain unchanged. One can
positive masses leading to more rapid structure formation than conclude that runaway motion must be sufficiently rare within a
can occur in a positive mass only universe, or the mutual repulsion bulk fluid that the effect does not occur with any regularity in a
between negative masses tending to counteract this and leading simulation of 50 000 particles. Simulations with higher numbers
to slower structure formation. Whichever the case, the presence of particles (of the order of millions) will be able to place numer-
of negative mass particles leads to modification of the relative ical constraints on the runaway particle rate, in order to provide
spatial distribution between filaments and voids6 . direct observational comparisons with ultra-high-energy cosmic
One-dimensional simulations of particles with a negative ray detection rates.
gravitational mass have also been reported in a recent study
(Manfredi et al. 2018). More sophisticated N-body simulations
4. Compatibility with observations
with larger numbers of particles and more sophisticated initial
conditions will be able to compare the resulting filaments and At this stage, I have presented a toy model which predicts that
voids from these simulations with the observed large-scale struc- the introduction of continuously-created negative masses to Ein-
ture in our Universe. Nevertheless, we have obtained a key result – stein’s field equations can behave in such a way as to resemble
that structure formation is possible in a universe with negative a cosmological constant. Furthermore, this model suggests that
mass. these negative masses can flatten the rotation curve of a galaxy.
This suggests that negative masses could possibly be responsible
for dark matter and dark energy. While this paper is primarily
3.4. Runaway motion
focussed on the theoretical and simulated consequences of such
In Sect. 1, we discussed the peculiar concept of runaway motion exotic matter, for the sake of completeness I now review the lit-
which can take place between positive–negative mass particle erature and consider any potential for compatibility between the
pairs, with such gravitational dipoles accelerating up to a speed toy model and contemporary cosmological observations.
equal to c. This has previously been perceived as a problem for
theories of negative masses (e.g. Bonnor 1989), partly due to the
4.1. Supernovae observations of an accelerating Universe
conventional maxim that massive particles cannot accelerate to c,
and primarily due to the general reasoning that we do not observe In Sect. 2.3, I found that there is a degeneracy between parameter
such high-speed particles. Both components of this argument are estimates of ΩM− and ΩΛ . In a conventional ΛCDM cosmology,
however of dubious merit. where ΩM− is taken to be zero, one could therefore infer a positive
Firstly, the theory of positive–negative mass particle pairs cosmological constant instead of a negative density parameter. I
provides clear rules that govern such interactions. The mechanics note that a model with non-zero ΩM− and zero ΩΛ would likely
of these interactions are governed by the usual physical laws: the give a different expansion rate to one with ΩM− and non-zero ΩΛ .
conservation of energy and momentum remain fundamental, and There is strong observational evidence from high-redshift
hence it is unclear why we should object to this potentially phys- supernovae that the expansion of the Universe is accelerat-
ical law of nature on grounds of aversion alone. Secondly, and ing due to a positive cosmological constant (Riess et al. 1998;
Perlmutter et al. 1999). However, inspection of these results
6
The consequences for structure formation could be substantially influ- reveals that the observations themselves may demonstrate ini-
enced by matter creation. Negative masses that are continuously created tial evidence for a negative mass dominated Universe. In
may feasibly have little influence on structures in the very early universe, both of these seminal works, the very reasonable assump-
as within the matter creation framework one could infer that few negative tion was made that all matter in the Universe has positive
masses would exist at early-times. mass.
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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

Fig. 6. N-body simulations showing the for-

mation of large-scale structure from an ini-
tially motionless, uniform, particle distribution
of 25 000 positive masses (in yellow) and 25 000
negative masses (in purple). Both the initial (top)
and the final (bottom) time-steps are shown. An
animated video from this simulation is available
online.

A92, page 12 of 20
 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

For the Bayesian fits in Perlmutter et al. (1999), the analysis One simple explanation is that measurements of a flat uni-
assumed a prior probability distribution that has zero probability verse from the CMB are just a local effect, with the k = −1
for ΩM < 0. This former work notes that throughout the pre- Universe being sufficiently large that it is not presently possible
vious cosmology literature, completely unconstrained fits have to detect any curvature. However, as shown in Sect. 2.3.3, the
generally been used that lead to confidence regions which include negative mass dominated universe undergoes a cycle of expan-
the part of the parameter space with negative values for ΩM . In
p
sion and contraction with a timescale of −3π2 /Λc2 . For a large
other words, a probability of zero was assigned to a negative mass universe in which the local geometry appears to be flat, it would
cosmology. therefore imply an especially low value for the magnitude of
In Riess et al. (1998), a working definition was applied such the cosmological constant – otherwise the universe would have
that negative values for the current deceleration (i.e. accelerations) recollapsed before reaching such a size. In this case, a reanalysis
were generated only by a positive cosmological constant and not of the CMB is not necessary, and the hypothesis of a k = −1 Uni-
from “unphysical, negative mass density”. The entire supernovae verse could be considered compatible with existing observations.
analysis was re-run in this former work, in order to further test this This is of course a possibility, but could also be perceived by a
point. The paper shows that demanding that ΩΛ ≡ 0, forces one to sceptical reader as a hand-waving way to allow any geometry for
relax the requirement that ΩM ≥ 0 in order to locate a global min- the Universe – regardless of the observational data.
imum in their χ2 statistic. Upon relaxing their prior, they obtain Alternatively, if we accept the observational evidence that
“unphysical” values of ΩM = −0.38±0.22 and ΩM = −0.52±0.20 the first CMB acoustic peak demonstrates that the Universe is
for their two different fitting approaches. This appears to indicate flat within the confines of the ΛCDM model, we could instead
that the supernovae data are providing evidence for a negative consider the effects that negative masses would have on the loca-
density contribution, ΩM = ΩM+ + ΩM− < 0. This would be tion of the CMB peaks. Naively, in the open spatial geometry
evidence for a negative mass dominated cosmology. of the negative mass dominated cosmology, the position of the
To assume that all mass in the Universe is positive is highly first CMB peak would be expected to be located at a considerably
reasonable, as there has never been a pre-detection of such exotic smaller angle. The ratio of angular distances for the negative
material. However, as I have shown in this paper, negative mass mass universe and the conventional ΛCDM universe at redshift
density may not be unphysical. In fact, one can argue that its z ∼ 1100 (corresponding to the surface of last scattering) is
presence can be inferred from cosmological and galaxy rotation
data, and it may possibly be able to provide an explanation for d−A (a)
dark matter and dark energy. Independent and more contempo- = 169. (30)
dΛCDM
A (a) z=1100
rary analyses of supernovae have also continued to use positive-
definite priors for ΩM , even with samples of up to 740 supernovae Hence an astrophysical object in a negative mass universe at
(Knop et al. 2003; Shariff et al. 2016). This further demonstrates z = 1100 would have an observed angular size 169 times less
that this is not a systematic that can be alleviated by better data, than in a ΛCDM cosmology. This is identical to the situation
but rather a conceptual challenge with the data analysis. presented for a massless cosmology in Benoit-Lévy & Chardin
I emphasise that by not constraining ΩM > 0, we are also mak- (2012, hereon BLC2012, also see Sect. 2.2). I now extensively
ing one less assumption. One can argue that due to Occam’s razor, follow that earlier work. The angular position of the first CMB
a negative mass cosmology is the more parsimonious hypothesis. peak is defined by the angle under which the sound horizon is
I therefore suggest that it is entirely plausible that the current seen at recombination, which is given by
observational data do not favour Λ > 0, but rather are evidence
for ΩM < 0. As shown in Sect. 2.3, when negative masses are χs (z∗ )
θ= , (31)
continuously created, ΩM < 0 can be equivalent to a negative dA (z∗ )
cosmological constant.
One could argue that the aforementioned papers refer to the where χs (z∗ ) is the sound horizon, dA (z∗ ) is the angular distance,
negative energy density of matter, which scales as 1/a3 , while theand z∗ is the redshift of the last scattering surface. The equivalent
negative energy density presented here is in the form of a cosmo- multipole is then given by la ∼ π/θ. By definition, the sound
logical constant. However, a cosmological constant is simply one horizon is the distance that acoustic waves can propagate in a
form that can be taken by the negative energy density. The precise primordial plasma, which is typically assumed to only consist
negative energy density is controlled by the parameter Γ, which of positive masses. Accounting for the expanding universe, the
distance of the sound horizon is given by
can vary as a function of space and time, as detailed in Sect. 2.3.1.
Even in the case where Γ does provide a cosmological constant, Z t
dt0
this affects only the observationally determined magnitude of χs = cs 0 , (32)
the ΩM measurements, and not the sign which remains negative. 0 a(t )
Although beyond the scope of this current paper, future works will √
be able to reanalyse the supernovae data and obtain updated mea- where the speed of sound cs = c/ 3(1 + R), where R is a cor-
surements of the cosmological parameters when matter creation rective factor due to the presence of baryons (Hu & Sugiyama
is fully included within the Bayesian analysis. 1995). The value of R is related to the baryon to photon ratio η by
R = 1.1 × 1012 η/(1 + z)7 .
The mechanism of sound generation in a negative mass and
4.2. CMB observations of a flat Universe a ΛCDM cosmology differ drastically. In the standard ΛCDM
cosmology, inhomogeneities are produced during the inflationary
One of the major outcomes from measurements of the CMB
epoch. However, in a negative mass cosmology, sound waves
has been locating the precise position of the first acoustic peak.
would be generated at the interfaces between positive and negative
This peak is on the degree scale, which implies that k = 0 (e.g.
Spergel et al. 2003). One could therefore suggest that this rules 7 One may argue that tight-coupling of photons to baryons could erase
out the negative mass dominated cosmology, for which it has all anisotropies, however such a hypothesis would critically assume a
been shown that k = −1 (see Sect. 2.3). purely positive mass cosmology.

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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

mass dominated regions. BLC2012 show that the relevant time would further affect the precise mechanism of sound generation.
of interest for sound generation is therefore the epoch of the However, such effects are not considered here. Further consid-
quark–gluon plasma transition which takes place at a temperature eration of these additional plausible physical effects, together
of T ∼ 170 MeV. I note that inflation is itself not required in with theoretical constraints for the second and third CMB peaks,
this particular cosmology, which does not have an age or horizon can form a robust test to either validate or rule out the cosmic
problem (see Sect. 2.2). An extended exposition can be found in presence of negative mass.
BLC2012. The aforementioned paper shows that acoustic waves In summary, while CMB modelling has provided an excep-
would propagate in the plasma while positive and negative masses tional fit to observational data, the parameterisation of a model
are in contact. The expression for the angular position of the firstis only ever as good as the selected model itself. I therefore am
CMB peak is then given by suggesting that CMB physics has chosen a “correct” model –
dA a Universe with a cosmological constant and cold dark matter.
la ∼ π · (33) However, it is possible that the true nature of dark matter and dark
χs (z∗ ) energy may have remained elusive due to the critical assumption
Using this expression, BLC2012 obtain la ∼ 160 for the multi- that both of the ΛCDM components have positive energy. By
pole of the acoustic scale. The standard measurement is la ∼ 300 allowing for energy to also be negative, it may be possible to
(Spergel et al. 2003). Rather than a discrepancy by a factor of show that this modified ΛCDM model can be fully compatible
≈169, there is substantial cancellation between the larger geomet- with the CMB. Nevertheless, I again emphasise that a reanalysis
rical term (from the open spatial geometry of a negative mass of the CMB is not essential for this purpose, as the Universe could
universe) and the larger sound horizon (from the slow evolution simply be large with minimal local curvature.
of the expansion rate before recombination). Within a factor of
approximately two, a negative mass universe can therefore predict
4.3. Galaxy cluster observations
the location of the first CMB peak and hence may be consistent
with CMB observations. However, this model assumes that there Galaxy clusters have also played a significant role in establishing
is repulsion between positive and negative masses that leads to a the standard ΛCDM model of cosmology (e.g. Allen et al. 2011).
subsequent gravitational decoupling, whereas the negative masses Such observations make a critical assumption – that clusters
proposed in this paper obey the weak equivalence principle. In are standard buckets that contain a representative mix of the
the latter case, sound can be continuously generated up until the constituent components of the cosmos. However, if the entirety of
present epoch. As this model contains numerous approximations, “empty” space is filled with negative masses that are continuously
there appears to be the potential for a negative mass universe popping into existence, this would prevent clusters from being
to be fully consistent with observations of the CMB. It is quite standard buckets and would suggest that they are intrinsically-
surprising in a negative mass cosmology with negative spatial biased towards positive mass regions of the Universe.
curvature, that the first CMB acoustic peak can naturally emerge Within the presented toy model, galaxy clusters therefore
at the correct scale – a simple back of the envelope approximation do not represent standard buckets. Although not standard buck-
is already within a factor of two and consistent with the typically ets, one could still anticipate that at least some observations of
interpreted flat spatial geometry. a few galaxies or galaxy clusters may have found hints of a
In an effort to identify any plausible mechanism that due to negative mass. In fact, “puzzling results” in clusters such as nega-
the nature of negative masses may allow for further adjustment tive masses have been discussed in the literature (Andreon et al.
of the CMB peaks, we can also speculate about various other 2005). For example, Chandra observations of the merging cluster
compressive and expansive effects in the early Universe. In the Abell 2034 found hints of a negative mass and therefore did not
standard ΛCDM model, sound waves can be generated from over- plot those data (Kempner et al. 2003), regions of the mass profile
densities in the primordial plasma that originated from quantum in the galaxy NGC 4636 yielded “unphysical” negative masses
fluctuations enlarged during inflation. These overdensities would (Johnson et al. 2009), in the NGC 3411 galaxy group the total
gravitationally attract matter, while heat from photon–baryon mass was found to decline with increasing radius – requiring
interactions would seek thermal equilibrium and create an out- material with negative mass (O’Sullivan et al. 2007), measure-
ward pressure. Counteracting gravity and pressure thereby give ments of galaxy clusters using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
rise to oscillations analogous to sound waves. In a negative mass yielded data that indicate a negative mass in poor clusters with
dominated universe, it is apparent that the sound generation mech- fewer than five galaxies (Hansen et al. 2005), a CMB cluster lens-
anism would be modified. There would be two opposing effects: ing study found a cluster with “a fairly significant preference
repulsive pressure from negative masses within an overdensity for negative mass” (Baxter et al. 2018), and a number of strong
would tend to erase anisotropies, while conversely negative mass and weak gravitational lensing studies have discussed or found
haloes would tend to surround positive mass baryons and increase indications of negative masses in reconstructed mass distributions
both the effective gravitational attraction and the subsequent col- (Evans & Witt 2003; Clowe et al. 2004, 2006; Liesenborgs et al.
lapse of these overdensities. Matter creation would also exert a 2006; Diego et al. 2007). Perhaps these findings can be trivially
further influence. While these additional effects could modify explained by mundane observational biases and systematics. Nev-
the physics of sound generation in the early Universe and the ertheless, given that we have identified other possible evidence
predicted anisotropies in the CMB, the precise effects would for the influence of negative masses on other spatial scales, the
depend upon the particle physics of the negative masses them- repeated observation of negative mass in clusters appears to be
selves, which is beyond the scope of this current paper. yet another piece of evidence that allows us to infer the plausible
In addition to this modification of CMB anisotropies, the existence of this exotic material.
sound waves used to derive la ∼ 160 are generated at the inter-
faces between positive and negative mass dominated regions. 4.4. Overall compatibility with ΛCDM
In these regions, the positive and negative masses would tend to
interact. These interactions could lead to runaway motion and pos- The current concordance cosmology is that of ΛCDM, which
sible annihilation of positive–negative mass particle pairs, which contains cold dark matter and a cosmological constant. In many

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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

respects, the negative mass dominated cosmology is a ΛCDM verse (Benoit-Lévy & Chardin 2012), which explores the con-
model – with positive–positive mass interactions corresponding sequences of antimatter with negative gravitational mass (also
to baryons, positive–negative mass interactions corresponding to see Sect. 2.2). Experiments underway at CERN are expected
dark matter, and negative–negative mass interactions correspond- to soon provide verification or refutation of these alternative
ing to dark energy. The standard Ωb + ΩCDM + ΩΛ can therefore be negative mass models. It is possible that multiple forms of neg-
reparameterised as Ω++ + Ω+− + Ω−− , thereby providing a form of ative mass may possibly exist, and observational constraints
modified ΛCDM. It is not immediately clear whether the relative will play an important role in testing these various scenarios.
ratios of 4.9%, 26.8%, and 68.3% for Ωb , ΩCDM , and ΩΛ respec- – It seems that the proposed negative mass fluid can be mod-
tively, would still hold upon a thorough observational reanalysis. elled as either matter or vacuum energy. It has previously
However, a key finding for the negative mass dominated cos- been proposed that space-time arises as a form of large-scale
mology is that the underlying universe is predicted to have k = −1, condensate of more fundamental objects, that are typically
ΩM < 0, and Λ < 0. Claiming a cosmology with negative spa- of an unknown nature (e.g. Liberati & Maccione 2014). One
tial curvature and negative cosmological constant would seem to could therefore speculate that the negative masses could be
be a heretical, renegade, and insane point of view. After all, the interpretable as a quantised form of energy associated with
conventional ΛCDM cosmology (which is spatially flat with a space-time itself.
positive cosmological constant, i.e. k = 0, ΩM > 0, and Λ > 0) – The introduction of negative masses to the vacuum can also
is based upon cutting-edge observational evidence derived from potentially provide a solution to the cosmological constant
supernovae, the CMB, and galaxy clusters. While this is true, the problem. The predicted vacuum energy can be a factor of
interpretation of these observations has been derived using the 10123 larger than the observed value (e.g. Hobson et al. 2006).
critical assumption that all mass in the Universe is positive. While By invoking negative masses, the vacuum energy density can
it is beyond the scope of this paper to attempt to fully recreate now take on essentially any value depending upon the precise
the entire impressive body of research into ΛCDM over the last cancellation of positive and negative energy states. If the
30 years, we have allowed ourselves to play devil’s advocate and negative oscillator modes exactly balance the positive modes,
quant
to have revisited the most key observational results, while also then ρvac = 0.
allowing mass to be negative. As scientists, we aim to be motivated – In theories of quantum gravity, gravitation is mediated by the
purely by the scientific evidence alone and endeavour to remain graviton – a massless, spin-2, boson. This means that any pair
entirely uninfluenced by confirmation bias. We have thus allowed of negative masses would attract, and not repel as suggested in
ourselves to indulge in this unconventional thought experiment. this theory. However, there are also theoretical arguments that
One can ask whether this negative mass cosmology could gravitons cannot, and will not ever, be detected experimentally
possibly be our cosmology. In Sects. 4.1–4.3, I have shown that (Rothman & Boughn 2006). There appear to be two options:
the cosmological parameters in the current concordance ΛCDM either it is possible that the graviton could be modelled as a
model can possibly be explained as a simple artefact that origi- bound state of a positive and a negative mass, in a theory of
nates from the assumption that all matter in the Universe has pos- composite gravity or some other mechanism which provides
itive mass. By allowing for negative masses within ΛCDM itself, a modification of graviton properties. Alternatively, this could
I have surprisingly found that there is observational evidence also indicate that the proposed theory cannot be modelled by
that potentially supports and possibly even appears to favour a real, physical, particles, but rather by the presence of effective
negative mass cosmology. I do not claim an all-encompassing or negative masses within a superseding theory.
rigorous proof of a negative mass cosmology, but simply high- – Electrically-charged negative masses may tend to coalesce
light that the toy model raises numerous interesting questions. into highly charged clumps, eventually reaching a critical
Future work will be able to further test the compatibility with mass at which all other masses would be gravitationally
additional cosmological observations. repelled. This has previously been briefly described (Landis
1991). However, observational constraints on the abundance
5. Future considerations of negative mass compact objects indicate that such com-
pact clumps cannot constitute a sizeable mass budget of the
There are several outstanding theoretical challenges for a theory Universe (Takahashi & Asada 2013). One suggestion is that
such as the one presented in this paper. I here provide some negative mass particles are always electrically neutral and
brief speculation as to the possibilities and future theoretical remain in a diffuse form.
considerations. – No attempt has been made to reconcile the presented theory
– It may be possible to directly validate this theory via the with the standard model of particle physics. Can a viable Higgs
direct capture and detection of a negative mass particle. Par- mechanism allow for a negative mass? Is there a way to intro-
ticles undergoing runaway motion would be highly scat- duce negative masses into the standard model that could allow
tered due to Brownian motion (see Sect. 3.4), resulting in for the combination of fundamental forces at high energies, in
an observed isotropic distribution on the sky. At face-value, a grand unified theory? Would supersymmetry be required? Is
this is consistent with the origin of ultra-high-energy cos- it possible that a negative mass particle travelling backwards
mic rays, and could lead to particles with energies above the in time may be measured as having a positive mass? These
Greisen–Zatsepin–Kuzmin (GZK) limit, such as the so-called questions would be interesting future avenues that could be
Oh My God particle. explored further by the particle physics community.
– Although this paper only considers particles with identical
inertial and gravitational mass, there are also a number of 6. Summary and conclusions
other negative mass models in which the inertial or gravita-
tional mass alone may have an inverted sign. These models I have considered the introduction of negative masses and matter
have recently been presented in Manfredi et al. (2018), which creation to cosmology, both via a theoretical approach and via
provides one-dimensional structure formation simulations for computational simulations. Neither negative masses nor matter
these various scenarios. One such model is the Dirac-Milne uni- creation are new ideas. When considered individually, neither idea

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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

can explain modern astrophysical observations. This paper has 9. It appears that the first acoustic peak in the CMB could natu-
reinvoked these two previous concepts and combined them together. rally emerge at the correct scale in a negative mass cosmology.
Commonly presumed issues with negative masses include Several additional physical effects on the CMB need to be
incompatibility with general relativity (however, this was shown fully considered, and determining the effects that negative
to be compatible in e.g. Bondi 1957), and the vacuum instability masses have on the second, third, and higher order CMB
(which is not a bug, but rather a feature of the proposed theory, peaks can enable a robust test to either validate or rule out the
see Sect. 2.3.1). By reintroducing the creation term into general presence of negative mass in the Universe.
relativity, but only for negative masses, it is possible to construct 10. In this cosmology, negative masses are distributed throughout
a toy model that has the potential to possibly explain both dark all of space-time, so that galaxy clusters cannot represent
energy and dark matter within a simple and unified theoretical standard buckets. A number of galaxy cluster observations
framework. Due to matter creation, a negative mass fluid can have appear to have inferred the presence of negative mass in
ω = −1. These hypothesised negative masses can push against cluster environments.
positive mass galaxies and galaxy clusters, thereby modifying 11. The introduction of negative masses can lead to an Anti-
their dynamics. Under this theory, the cosmos contains a dynamic, de Sitter space. This would correspond to one of the most
motive, dark fluid, with dark matter and dark energy being mod- researched areas of string theory, the Anti-de Sitter/Conformal
elled as the observed effects from positive mass matter “surfing” Field Theory correspondence, and if applicable to our own
on this expanding fluid. As an illustrative concept, empty space- Universe, would suggest that string theory may possibly have
time would behave almost like popcorn – with more negative direct physical applications.
masses continuously popping into existence. 12. Negative masses are predicted to produce a vacuum instabil-
From an astrophysical perspective, this cosmological theory ity, which would suggest the vacuum itself is undergoing a
surprisingly has some successes in describing observations. The slow and stable decay. In this cosmology, the universe would
derived cosmological model requires both negative spatial curva- be taking on an increasingly negative energy state due to the
ture, k = −1, and a negative cosmological constant, Λ < 0. While continuous creation of negative masses. While such a vacuum
such a proposal is a renegade and heretical one, it has been sug- instability is normally considered to be a theoretical insuffi-
gested that negative values for these parameters may possibly be ciency of negative masses, in this particular case it is not a
consistent with cosmological observations, which have critically bug, but rather a feature of the proposed cosmology.
always made the reasonable assumption that mass can only be This accumulation of evidence could possibly indicate that while
positive. When not making this extra assumption, Occam’s razor we cannot currently directly detect negative masses, we may have
indicates that the introduction of negative mass may possibly be a been able to infer the presence of these negative masses via their
more parsimonious theory than the standard concordance ΛCDM gravitational effects. These effects would seem bizarre, peculiar,
model with k = 0 and Λ = 0. Considerable future work will be and unfamiliar to us, as we reside in a positive mass dominated
needed in order to fully explore the implications and prospects region of space. As the interactions between positive and negative
for this modified ΛCDM toy model. masses are mediated by gravitation, the effects are typically fun-
The theory, simulations, and observations suggest that this damentally related to the physical scale – generally requiring a
particular cosmology has the following properties: sufficiently large accumulation of positive mass in order for nega-
1. The geometry of the universe in this cosmology has negative tive masses to influence the dynamics of a physical system. One
spatial curvature, k = −1. aspect that is particularly preposterous is the concept of runaway
2. The continuous creation of negative masses can resemble a motion, but as quantum mechanics has shown, many absurd con-
cosmological constant, with Λ < 0. cepts constitute real, testable, and repeatable facets of nature.
3. Negative masses can give rise to a time-variable Hubble There appears to be the potential and scope for this concept
parameter. to be fully tested in order to make complete comparisons with
4. Negative masses can be intrinsically attracted towards regions observational data. A number of testable predictions have been
of positive mass, thereby leading to an increase in density made, including using cutting-edge telescopes such as the SKA,
that manifests itself as a dark matter halo that extends out to constraining the CMB acoustic peaks, and attempting direct detec-
several galactic radii. tion from ultra-high-energy cosmic rays. Meanwhile, laboratory
5. Due to mutual self-repulsion between negative masses, dark tests may be able to confirm whether antimatter could possibly be
matter haloes formed from negative masses are not cuspy, and responsible for these gravitational effects – although it would seem
could thereby possibly provide a resolution of the cuspy-halo that a far more exotic material would likely be required. In addition,
problem. future state-of-the-art N-body simulations on GPUs with larger
6. The rotation curves of galaxies can be flattened by the nega- numbers of particles, that allow for the creation of negative masses,
tive masses in the surrounding dark matter halo, however the will help to provide a refined comparison with observations.
curve is also predicted to increase linearly in the outermost I here emphasise that several well-accepted theories can be
regions of galaxies. This may be consistent with previous modelled using non-real or effective negative masses. Air bub-
observational findings, which have found that most rotation bles in water can be modelled as having a negative effective
curves are rising slowly even at the farthest measured point mass (Brennen 1995). For holes in semiconductor theory, elec-
(e.g. Rubin et al. 1980). trons at the top of the valence band have a negative effective
7. Structure formation appears to be able to take place in a posi- mass (Ashcroft & Mermin 1976). The Casimir effect can be mod-
tive and negative mass universe, leading to the conventional elled using a region of negative energy density (Morris et al.
suite of filaments, voids, rich clusters, and field galaxies. 1988). Hawking radiation can be modelled using virtual neg-
8. Supernovae observations of a positive cosmological constant ative mass particles that fall into the black hole (Hawking 1975).
made the reasonable critical assumption that all mass is pos- In the dark energy alternative of phantom energy (with ω < −1),
itive. Upon relaxing this assumption, the supernovae data the excitations of the phantom field are negative mass parti-
of Riess et al. (1998) and Perlmutter et al. (1999) themselves cles (Caldwell 2002; Carroll 2004). Even Bose–Einstein con-
derive a negative mass density in the Universe. densates have observable regions with negative effective mass

A92, page 16 of 20
 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

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 A&A 620, A92 (2018)

Appendix A: Density evolution of a negative mass ∂g

fluid in a non-expanding space = −4πGM. (A.6)
∂s
I here consider the bulk properties of a negative mass fluid in a Here M is the mass of individual particles, and ν is the damping
non-expanding space. To begin, I make a simplifying assump- rate due to gas friction (i.e. kinematic viscosity). The number
tion and consider the effect of a cloud of massive particles in density of masses, n, is given by N/V where N is the total number
three dimensions, assuming spherical symmetry. The evolution and V is the volume, or equivalently by ρ/M where ρ is the mass
of this massive fluid occurs in a dilute plasma, so that screening density.
is unimportant and the particles interact via gravitational forces. I I take the time derivative of Eq. (A.4), substitute ∂2 v/∂s∂t
will consider the negative mass solutions for this “gravitational from Eq. (A.5), and use Eq. (A.6) to get
plasma”. While the negative mass solutions can be interpreted as
the motion of negative mass particles, the solutions can also be ∂2 n−1 ∂n−1
considered as the flow of a negative mass fluid. +ν = −4πGM, (A.7)
∂t 2 ∂t
The majority of the matter in the Universe is known to exist
as a low-density electrical plasma: solids, liquids and gases are which has a general solution
uncommon away from planetary bodies. The cosmological prin-
ciple therefore indicates that one can reasonably model the Uni- 4πGM
n−1 (s, t) = c1 (s) + c2 (s)e−νt − t, (A.8)
verse as an isotropic, homogeneous, cloud of plasma. In this case, ν
however, it is as a gravitational plasma, with particle interac-
tions occurring between positive and negative masses rather than where the constants c1 and c2 are to be determined from initial
positive and negative electrical charges. I note that the expan- conditions. If the initial density is constant, n(x, 0) = n0 within
sion of space itself is not included in this unconventional plasma 0 = c1 + c2 .
the range |x| ≤ x0 , and so I obtain n−1
model of the Universe. In this Section, I extensively follow Ivlev I now substitute ∂n−1 /∂t from Eq. (A.8) into Eq. (A.4) and
(2013), which provides similar solutions for a cloud of electri- integrate to obtain
cally charged particles that I will here modify for application to Z s
gravitating particles. I begin with a 1D planar problem and then 4πGM
v(s, t) = − s − νe−νt c2 (s0 ) ds0 . (A.9)
develop analytical solutions for the 3D case. I neglect the pres- ν 0
sure term in the equation of motion, assuming that thermal effects
are negligible. Since the coordinate and density dependence of If the particles were initially at rest, v(s, 0) = 0, then I obtain
the particle mass, M, makes the problem non-linear (and likely c2 = −4πGM/ν2 . Plugging this into Eq. (A.8) and using n−1 0 =
intractable), I consider the case where M is constant or an explicit c1 + c2 , I also obtain c1 = n−10 + 4πGM/ν 2
. The solutions of
function of time. These solutions therefore hold in cases where Eqs. (A.4)–(A.6) are therefore
matter is constantly being created or annihilated.
ω2p  −1
 
n(t) 
= 1 − 2 νt − 1 + e  ,
−νt 
(A.10)
A.1. Planar 1D case n0 ν
I employ the Lagrangian mass coordinates (s, tL ) (Ya 2002),
where the Lagrangian time is tL = t and ω2p s  
Z x v(s, t) = − 1 − e−νt , (A.11)
ν n0
s= dx0 n(x0 , t) (A.1)
0

is the coordinate expressed via the local number density n(x, t). I g = −4πGMs, (A.12)
assume that the system remains symmetric with respect to x = 0,
this means that v(0, t) = 0. The material and spatial derivatives where ωp = √4πGMn0 is the initial plasma frequency of the mas-
can then be transformed from Eulerian coordinates using the rules sive cloud. These solutions are also valid when M is an explicit
function of time, for example due to matter creation or matter
∂ ∂ ∂ annihilation. I have therefore now obtained general solutions for
+v = , (A.2) (i) the local number density, (ii) the flow velocity, and (iii) the
∂t ∂x ∂tL
gravitational field. Eqs. (A.10)–(A.12) are all described as func-
and tions of the Lagrangian mass coordinates, (s, t). I note that via this
∂ ∂ mathematical representation of fluid flow we are tracking the loca-
= · (A.3) tions of individual fluid particles, rather than using fixed-space
n∂x ∂s Eulerian coordinates. The use of Lagrangian coordinates allows
I now look at the resulting continuity and momentum equa- us to consider the fluid from a more cosmological perspective,
tions for the density, n, and velocity, v, as well as Gauss’ law since we are interested in the history of individual particles as a
for the self-consistent gravitational field, g, produced by massive function of time.
particles. For clarity, I omit the subscript L for time, yielding We first discuss the local number density as a function of
time, by considering an asymptotic analysis of Eq. (A.10). At
∂n−1 ∂v early-times, νt  1, and using a Maclaurin series expansion for
= , (A.4)
∂t ∂s e−νt yields
−1 "
ω2p t2  2 −1
 #
∂v n(t)  = 1 − 4πGMn0 t (for νt  1). (A.13)

+ νv = g, (A.5) ≈ 1 −
 
∂t n0 2 2
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 J. S. Farnes: A unifying theory of dark energy and dark matter

At later-times, νt  1, and e−νt ≈ 0 which leads to c1 (s) + c2 (s) = n−1

0 (s) and c2 (s) = −4πGM/ν − v0 (s)/ν, where
2 0
0
−1 " n0 (s) and v0 (s) ≡ dv0 (s)/ds can be obtained from n0 (x) and
ω2p t 
 #−1
n(t)  4πGMn0 t v0 (x) respectively, by employing the relation x(s) from Eq. (A.1).
≈ 1 −  = 1 − (for νt  1). (A.14) Consequently, in the limit νt  1, the solutions for n and v do
n0 ν ν
not depend on the initial conditions and tend to the behaviour of
Consequently, at νt ∼ 1, the time-scaling switches from n ∝ t−2 Eqs. (A.10) and (A.11) at later-times.
(νt  1) to n ∝ t−1 (νt  1). I note that this does not consider
matter creation or annihilation. A more general solution could A.2. Spherically symmetric 3D case
be considered where either the annihilation of positive masses
or the creation of negative masses leads to a constant density I have shown that the solution for a 1D cloud has distinct char-
evolution with time. Assuming no matter creation or annihilation, acteristic features. In homogeneous steady initial conditions, the
the evolution of Eqs. (A.13) and (A.14) are dependent on whether density of the expanding cloud remains homogeneous and the
M is positive (in which case the density increases with time) or velocity increases linearly towards the cloud boundary. This is
negative (in which case the density decreases with time). asymptotically true for arbitrary initial conditions. One could
In the case where M > 0, the gravitational plasma of positive therefore hypothesise that these characteristics are independent
masses collapses through mutual gravitational attraction – with of dimensionality and will hold in a spherically symmetric 3D
the density increasing over time. However, the density cannot cloud.
increase without bound. As the fluid becomes sufficiently dense, To test this hypothesis, I continue to follow Ivlev (2013) and
the positive mass particles will begin to interact on a scale equiv- write the analogous 3D equations to Eqs. (A.4)–(A.6) in Eulerian
alent to an effective particle radius. Furthermore, the plasma will coordinates, which yields
eventually cease to be sufficiently dilute that the screening is ∂n 1 ∂(r2 nv)
unimportant and particles will begin to experience short-range + = 0, (A.16)
interparticle interactions. The density will then evolve following ∂t r2 ∂r
some other form, of which we are not here concerned. Although
I highlight that this is a 1D treatment in a non-expanding space, ∂v ∂v
this solution describes the gravitational evolution of a positive + v + νv = g, (A.17)
∂t ∂r
mass cloud.
In the case where M < 0, the gravitational plasma of negative
masses now undergoes a gravitational explosion – with the fluid 1 ∂(r2 g)
= −4πGMn. (A.18)
becoming more dilute and the density decreasing over time. Such r2 ∂r
a cloud would expand persistently due to gravitational repulsion.
Although this is also a 1D treatment in a non-expanding space, I use the following starting point for the solutions to n, v, and g:
this solution describes the gravitational expansion of a negative !3
n(t) r0
mass cloud. In the case of no matter creation, we can see that = , (A.19)
the expansion is characterised by a uniform stretching, with the n0 rb (t)
density being constant in space and decreasing monotonically
with time. Consequently, Eq. (A.1) is reduced to a simple relation r
s = n(t)x and the cloud boundary xb (> 0) is determined by v(r, t) = ṙb (t), (A.20)
rb (t)
the condition sb = n(t)xb (t) = n0 x0 . However, a more general
solution that includes matter creation can also allow the density of
4π
negative masses to remain constant as a function of time, and can g(r, t) = − GMn(t)r, (A.21)
be trivially parameterised by treating M as M(t) and equivalently 3
ρ = n(t)M(t) = constant in Eqs. (A.13) and (A.14). In this case of with r ≤ rb (for simplicity, I again consider a homogeneous
matter creation, the expansion is still characterised by a uniform initial distribution). These initial solutions ensure that Eqs. (A.16)–
stretching, and if matter is created at a sufficient rate, the density (A.18) are satisfied identically.
can remain constant in both space and time. By substituting Eq. (A.20) into Eq. (A.17), then substituting
I now discuss the flow velocity, v, as a function of time, by the solutions for g from Eq. (A.21) and n(t) from Eq. (A.19), I
considering an asymptotic analysis of Eq. (A.11) when M < 0. obtain
It can be determined that v increases linearly with x and attains
a maximum at xb . When νt  1, the maximum velocity at the ω2p r03
boundary tends to a constant value of vb = x0 ω2p /ν, and corre- r̈b (t) + νṙb (t) + = 0. (A.22)
3 rb (t)2
sponds to a balance of the gravitational and frictional forces. As
ν tends towards zero, I obtain I now define, N(t) = rb (t)/r0 , Ṅ(t) = ṙb (t)/r0 , and N̈(t) = r̈b (t)/r0 ,
and derive
ω2p
ω2p
 
vb = lim − x0 1 − e−νt = ω2p x0 t, (A.15)
ν→0 ν N̈ + νṄ + N −2 = 0, (A.23)
3
which shows that in the absence of friction, v grows linearly with
which can be more generally written as
time at the boundary.
One could ask what fate awaits overdensities and structure ω2p
that may exist within this expanding negative mass fluid. I note N̈ + νṄ + N −D+1 = 0. (A.24)
that the functions c1 (s) and c2 (s) in Eq. (A.8) can also be derived D
for a more general case, when the initial density n0 (x) is not where the dimensionality of the space is represented by D =
constant, or the initial velocity v0 (x) is not zero. This leads to 1, 2, 3. Similarly from Eq. (A.19), I can more generally write that
A92, page 19 of 20
 A&A 620, A92 (2018)
 −1/D  −1/3
N(t) = rb (t)/r0 ≡ n(t) n0 . Consequently, when D = 1 then such that N(t) = n(t) n0 . The time evolution at small t is
 n(t) −1 then similar to Eq. (A.13), while the evolution at large t is given
N(t) = n0 . Subsequently, Eq. (A.24) reduces to Eq. (A.7)
by n ∝ t−3 . I note that this 3D frictionless case is likely the most
and I obtain the 1D solutions from Eqs. (A.10) to (A.12). When relevant for a cloud of negative masses, which should have low
D = 2, 3, then one cannot solve Eq. (A.24) analytically. How- friction due to their mutual repulsion. We therefore can consider
ever, some special cases can be considered via an asymptotic the density evolution of a perfect fluid of negative masses, with
analysis. no viscosity, to be characterised by n ∝ t−3 .
Firstly, I can consider Eq. (A.23) in the case when νt  1, In conclusion, the expansion of a cloud/fluid of negative mass
such that N̈ is negligible. This yields particles is described by analytical solutions. In the case of no
−1 matter creation, we can see that the expansion is characterised by
ω2p t 

n(t)  a uniform stretching, with the density being constant in space and
≈ 3k1 −  , (A.25)
n0 ν  decreasing monotonically with time. In the case where matter is
being created, the expansion is still characterised by a uniform
which as the initial density n(0) = n0 , at t = 0, this stretching, but if matter is created at a sufficient rate then the
leads to k1 = 1/3 which provides an identical solution density can remain constant in both space and time. Irrespective
to Eq. (A.14) for the 1D case. Hence, I can conclude that of whether matter creation is taking place, the density distribution
asymptotically, the density evolution does not depend on the remains homogeneous across the cloud, and the velocity increases
dimensionality and that our initial result holds when D = linearly towards the cloud boundary. I note that this exercise is
3. Hence for any case where ν , 0 – and independent of characterised within a non-expanding space and therefore pro-
the initial conditions, the density decays asymptotically as vides the local properties for a cloud of negative masses, rather
n ∝ t−1 . than full cosmological solutions. The precise analytical solutions
Secondly, I can consider Eq. (A.23) in another special case, for the expansion of this fluid would be modified in proximity to
when ν = 0, so that the equation can be directly integrated. In positive masses. In particular, such a gravitational plasma will
this case, the first integral is Ṅ 2 = 23 ω2p (1 − N −1 ), which has the begin to exhibit screening effects similar to those observed in
solution an electrical plasma. It has been suggested that negative mass
r screening effects would have the ability to attenuate gravitational
√ √ 2 waves, with the plasma being opaque to frequencies below the

N(N − 1) + ln N + N − 1 = ωp t
p
(A.26)
3 plasma frequency (Mbarek & Paranjape 2014).

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