Information-Driven Dark Energy: Cosmic Acceleration as the Trace of a Universal Computation

We propose a phenomenological framework in which cosmic acceleration is interpreted as the energetic footprint of a living computation carried out by the universe itself. Instead of a constant vacuum energy, we introduce an information-driven dark energy component, ρX (a) = 3M2 PlH2 0 A dK dln a + B˜ Π(a) + C dχ dln a , ˜ where K(a) is a proxy for effective cosmic complexity, Π(a) encodes horizon-scale infor- mational pressure, and χ(a) represents a very slow “cosmic breathing” phase. The model reduces to ΛCDM or holographic dark energy in the limit A= C = 0. Operationally, we approximate dK/dt through astrophysical tracers of entropy produc- tion: star formation rate density (SFRD), black-hole accretion rate density (BHARD), and large-scale structure growth. This allows direct comparison between the history of entropy/complexity and deviations in the Hubble expansion relative to ΛCDM. We outline four testable predictions: (i) a small but time-dependent deviation of the dark- energy equation of state w(z) from−1; (ii) weak but nonzero correlation between residual expansion ∆H(z) and complexity growth dK/dln a; (iii) logarithmic modulation associated with horizon information content; (iv) an ultra-low-frequency oscillatory component in w(z). Using forthcoming datasets (DESI, Euclid, LSST) and existing astrophysical catalogs, this framework can be falsified within the next decade. Thus, the framework provides both a conceptual bridge between information and cosmology and a concrete, near-term empirical program to confirm or refute it with forthcoming surveys.