Possibilities of a QED-Based Vacuum Energy

Abstract

A QED-based bootstrap mechanism, appearing at sufficiently small space-time scales, is suggested as an explanation for the "dark" vacuum energy that may be able to accelerate the universe. Very small-scale vacuum currents are allowed to generate small-scale electromagnetic fields, which become significant near the light cone. The resulting lepton-pair production, some of which may be tachyonic, has ramifications for the convergence of all QED perturbative processes, as well as providing possible mechanisms for "dark" matter, galactic gamma-ray bursts, and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.