Dark Matter - Origin and Role

This study presents a comprehensive synthesis of observational evidence supporting the existence of dark matter (DM) as a dominant, non-baryonic, gravitationally active component of the universe. Drawing on empirical data — including rotation curves, gravitational lensing, cluster dynamics, and early structure formation — the Vacuum Energy Quanta Field (VEQF) framework is introduced as a novel ontological basis for space, mass, and gravity. Within the VEQF framework, dark matter is modeled as exotic quark solitons (3 < TCI < 14) that fail to form hadrons due to prohibitively high binding energy.