What if dark energy is a packaging artifact?
Asks whether dark energy could be a correction forced by compressing an inhomogeneous universe into a homogeneous model. Tests the idea on toy models and public survey data.
The paper treats cosmological inference as a compression problem. A lens compresses observational data (e.g., distance-redshift summaries). A completion fills in a homogeneous universe model. Audits check whether this macro model is self-consistent. When "evolve then compress" disagrees with "compress then evolve," a correction term is forced. In toy models, spatial variation (heterogeneity) generates apparent acceleration even when no cosmological constant exists. The paper finishes with reproducible audit pipelines on public DES and KiDS survey data products.
Dark energy can be the price of closure under a chosen lens.
- Ioannis Tsiokos
Cosmology as a compression problem
A cosmological model is a lens (what observations you keep), a completion (the homogeneous model you assume), and audits (checks that the model is self-consistent).
Mismatch forces correction terms
When "evolve the universe then average" disagrees with "average then evolve," the macro model needs a correction. That correction can look like dark energy.
Inference illusions are testable
Synthetic data from a universe with zero cosmological constant but spatial variation can be wrongly fit to yield a nonzero Lambda under a homogeneous model.
Public-data audits
Cross-probe consistency checks (fit on one data set, predict another) are run on public DES and KiDS survey releases.
Core lens
What you assume
Lens and completion
Observations compress the universe into summary statistics (e.g., distance vs. redshift). A completion assumes a homogeneous model to fill in the rest.
What must close
Packaging operator
The compression must stabilize: compressing twice should give the same result as compressing once, and the compressed model should evolve consistently.
What you audit
Route mismatch
Measures how much "evolve then compress" differs from "compress then evolve." A nonzero mismatch means the macro model needs a correction term.
Highlighted results
Spatial variation creates apparent acceleration
In toy patch-cosmology models, inhomogeneity generates a nonzero mismatch that looks like accelerated expansion.
A zero-Lambda universe can be misfit as LambdaCDM
Synthetic distance-vs-redshift data from a universe with no cosmological constant produce a best-fit Lambda > 0 when forced through a homogeneous model.
Correction term tracks the inhomogeneity
A mismatch-derived correction matches the fit quality of LambdaCDM in the synthetic setting, without a fundamental constant.
Audits on public survey data
Cross-probe consistency checks and resolution-dependence tests run on public DES supernova, BAO, and large-scale structure data.
Methods and reproducibility
Sanity checks
Media-ready
A reproducible workflow produces mismatch metrics, cross-probe consistency checks, and provenance logs for each experiment.
- Synthetic distance-vs-redshift demonstrations
- Patch-cosmology mismatch sweeps across heterogeneity levels
- Public-data cross-probe consistency audits
Limitations and scope
Resources
Request the preprint
DOI pending
Framework paper landing page
Six Birds: Foundations of Emergence Calculus
Access
Preprint release with DOI pending.
Citation
Ioannis Tsiokos (2026). A Six Birds' Eye View of Dark Energy. Preprint.
BibTeX
@misc{tsiokos2026darkenergy,
title = {A Six Birds' Eye View of Dark Energy},
author = {Tsiokos, Ioannis},
year = {2026},
note = {Preprint, DOI pending}
}Press and contact
For media inquiries, figures, or walkthroughs of the artifacts, reach out directly.
Ioannis Tsiokos
ioannis@automorph.io
Corresponding author - Press contact