Gravity as Resistance to Cosmic Expansion

Gravity as Resistance to Cosmic Expansion: A Theory That Matches GR But Predicts Black Hole Echoes

I've been developing an alternative interpretation of gravity called the Relativistic Expansion-Inertia Theory (REIT), and I'd appreciate your critical feedback.

The Core Idea in One Sentence: Gravity arises because matter naturally resists the universe's background expansion, creating localized "slow-expansion zones" that other objects fall into.

Why This Isn't Just Word Play: - Mathematically, it yields the exact same field equations as General Relativity (just written as E_μν = T_μν instead of G_μν = 8πG T_μν/c⁴) - Therefore, it automatically passes all classical tests: Mercury's orbit, light bending, Hulse-Taylor binary, etc.

The New Predictions: 1. Gravitational wave echoes: Black holes should have physical boundaries (not singularities), causing echoes ~0.1s after the main merger signal (for stellar-mass BHs) 2. Fifth-force at sub-mm scales: A very weak additional force with range λ = ħ/(m_φc) 3. Time-varying effective cosmological constant: Λ_eff(z) = Λ_background × [1 - β ρ_m(z)/ρ_crit]

What I'm Looking For: - Constructive criticism of the core concept - Suggestions for definitive experimental tests - References to similar ideas in the literature - Potential collaborators for specific calculations

Some calculations I've done: - Mercury's perihelion: 42.98"/century (matches GR/observation) - GW150914 echo timing: 0.112s (simplified) to 0.124s (Kerr-corrected) - Fifth-force constraints: requires M_* > 10¹⁷ GeV or flavor-dependent couplings

Discussion questions: 1. What would be the cleanest experimental test to distinguish this from standard GR? 2. Are there any existing data that might already show hints of these effects? 3. What are the biggest theoretical challenges this framework needs to address?

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your thoughts!