Source Energy Field Theory: A Novel Framework for Cosmic Structure Formation

Contemporary cosmology faces unresolved questions regarding the nature of dark matter and dark energy. To address these challenges, this study introduces the source energy field theory (SEFT), a novel framework that reinterprets cosmic structure formation. SEFT envisions the universe as permeated by a fundamental energy field, where cosmological redshift arises not from accelerated expansion but from distance-dependent attenuation of electromagnetic energy and spatial curvature induced by the field. A general nonlinear wave equation is introduced to describe these dynamics, linking redshift to right ascension, declination, and distance. The model was optimized using 1,701 observational data points from Pantheon+ and SH0ES, including Type Ia supernovae and Cepheid variables (6.3–17241 Mpc), and compared with the flat lambda cold dark matter ΛCDM model. SEFT achieved lower RMSE (145.521 vs. 147.665 Mpc), higher R² (0.9910 vs. 0.9908), and superior model selection criteria (ΔAIC=-41.753,ΔBIC=-19.997 ). These results provide strong statistical evidence for SEFT, highlighting its potential to complement or extend the ΛCDM paradigm. This record corresponds to the peer-reviewed and published version in Symmetry (MDPI, 2025).Official DOI: 10.3390/sym17111919 This version includes the supplementary materials (Files S1–S4) corresponding to the Symmetry publication:Sakihara, E., & Nabeshima, S. (2025). Source Energy Field Theory: A Novel Framework for Cosmic Structure Formation. Symmetry, 17(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/sym17101919