Does the Universe have its own mass?

TL;DR

This paper proposes a quantum gravity framework suggesting the universe has an intrinsic 'own mass' distribution, influencing space geometry and reference frames, derived from initial conditions and quantum constraints.

Contribution

It introduces a novel formulation of quantum gravity where the universe's own mass is a dynamic distribution affecting space and reference systems.

Findings

Universe's own mass is a distribution of gravitational constraints.

The initial state can be determined via Euclidean quantum gravity.

Modifications to Wheeler-De Witt equation incorporate reference system parameters.

Abstract

Within the framework of the previously proposed formulation of the quantum theory of gravity in terms of world histories, it was suggested that the universe has its own mass. This quantity is analogous to the mass of a particle in relativistic mechanics. The mass of the universe is a distribution of non-zero values of gravitational constraints, which arises and changes in time as a consequence of the initial conditions for fundamental dynamic variables. A formulation of the Euclidean quantum theory of gravity is also proposed to determine the initial state, which can be the source of the universe's own mass. Being unrelated to ordinary matter, the distribution of its own mass affects the geometry of space and forms a dedicated frame of reference. The existence of selected reference systems is taken into account by the corresponding modification of the system of quantum gravitational links. A variant of such a modification of the Wheeler-De Witt equation is the operator representation of gravitational constraints, which, together with the state of the universe, determines the parameters of the reference system in the form of a distribution of the spinor field on a spatial section.