Abstract

A holistic view of the cosmological appearance and development of space is obtained by studying space as a spherically closed surface of a 4-sphere in a zero energy balance between motion and gravitation. Such an approach reestablishes Einstein's original view of the cosmological structure of the universe but instead of forcing space to be static with a cosmology constant, it lets it contract or expand while constantly maintaining a balance between the energies of motion and gravitation within the structure. In spherically closed dynamic space the fourth dimension, the direction of the 4-radius of the structure, is purely metric in its nature; time can be treated as a universal scalar, and the line element cdt in the fourth dimension gets the meaning of the distance that space moves at velocity c in time differential dt. The rest energy of matter appears as the energy of motion due to the motion of space in the fourth dimension, in the direction of the 4-radius of the structure. The dynamic universe approach converts Einsteinian spacetime in variable time and distance coordinates into dynamic space in absolute coordinates. All velocities in space are related to the 4-velocity of space, and the local state of rest appears as a property of the local energy system rather than as the state of an observer. Based on the zero-energy balance of whole space and the conservation of energy in interactions in space, the dynamic space approach allows the derivation of relativistic phenomena and cosmological predictions in closed mathematical form without relying on the Lorentz transformation or the relativity and equivalence principles. Mach's principle gets a quantitative expression, and the picture of cosmology is cleared: no dark energy or free parameters are needed to explain the magnitude/redshift relations of distant objects. Local systems expand in direct proportion to the expansion of whole space which results in a Euclidean appearance of distant space and explains the observed development of the surface brightness of galaxies. The rate of internal atomic processes is tied to the velocity of light which is determined by the expansion velocity and local geometry of space. All processes, like radioactive decay or buildup of large scale structures in space, have been faster in the young expanding universe. The ongoing decelerating expansion of space continues to infinity by gradually releasing the rest energy of matter. In the dynamic universe, the cycle of observable physical existence begins at cessation at infinity in the past and ends at cessation at infinity in the future.