Dual TIme Cosmology

We explore a cosmological framework positing a reciprocal relationship between

spatial expansion and the flow of time: as the Universe’s expansion accelerates, an

absolute cosmic time dimension slows in its passage (and could even reverse direction),

while the local time experienced by observers remains as normally perceived. In this

dual-time model, time has two aspects: a global Absolute Time Tabs that parametrizes

the Universe’s evolution and progressively slows relative to observers, and the usual

observer-relative time t that corresponds to the proper time measured by comoving

observers. We formalize this idea by introducing a modified Friedmann–Lemaître–

Robertson–Walker (FLRW) metric in which Tabs and t coexist, related by a dynamic

lapse function. Using this metric and the Friedmann equations, we derive how accelerated

expansion in space is concomitant with a deceleration of Tabs, and show that many

cosmological observations normally attributed to dark energy can be reinterpreted

as consequences of this time deformation. In particular, an apparent acceleration of

the expansion arises for t-time observers even if the expansion in Tabs is decelerating

(e.g. a matter-only universe). Thus, the empirical evidence for cosmic acceleration

can be explained without dark energy. We discuss how this dual-time

picture mirrors the philosophical duality between Einstein’s realism and the Copenhagen

interpretation of quantum mechanics: Tabs provides an objective, observer-independent

temporal order (analogous to an absolute time or a hidden variable), while t represents

the subjective, observer-dependent experience of time.

In Dual-Time Cosmology, gravity regulates the conversion between cosmic and proper

time; spatial variations in this regulation make motion an emergent consequence of

inhomogeneous time flow rather than an added force or degree of freedom. In contrast

to other approaches, this framework also dispenses with new matter fields, ad hoc

modifications of Newtonian dynamics, additional vector or scalar degrees of freedom, or

hidden microscopic structures of spacetime. Instead, the dual-time gauge of general

relativity alone yields the observed dark-energy-like acceleration and the dark-matter-like

low-acceleration law in a unified, parameter-minimal manner.