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Could gravity be explained as the existence of a "gravitational charge", acting similarly to an electromagnetic charge but where like charges attract and opposite charges repel? A graviton may regulate said "charge", where both dark matter and regular matter emit a positive charge, thus making them attractive, while dark energy posesses a negative charge, increasing the distance between itself and the positively gravitationally charged matter in the universe. Additionally, since the gravitational interraction between antimatter and matter hasn't been fully experimentally tested due to the relative strength of the electromagnetic force compared to the gravitational force, perhaps antimatter carries said negative gravitational charge and we haven't observed it because of the EMF? Sorry if I overlooked a crucial law of quantum mechanics or whatever, this was just something I thought up a few hours ago and wanted a legitimate answer to, thanks.

Connor Behan
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Davis Anderson
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  • Have you seen this answer? – Quantum Mechanic Oct 26 '21 at 22:43
  • @QuantumMechanic now I have, thanks! I still don't understand though, if mass is the "charge" of gravity then this doesn't necessarily mean that gravity couldn't be regulated via charged bosons similarly to the W boson. Perhaps antimatter also posesses a positive gravitational charge, then, and dark energy is a separate type of matter that emits negative gravitons. Is there credence to this theory or does it make no sense whatsoever? – Davis Anderson Oct 26 '21 at 22:51

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There are several reasons why an idea like this won't work, but the big one is that it is inconsistent with the way that dark energy behaves. The real big insight about dark energy is that, as the universe expands, its density does not decrease. So, not only does it have a repulsive effect, but as the universe expands there is "more"${}^{*}$ of it. This means that you cannot model it with some density of ordinary, but repulsive, matter.

${}^{*}$Let's qualify "more" to mean "more within the visible universe, or some other fixed, but exapanding volume

Zo the Relativist
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  • Alright thanks! That clarified a lot of questions but I still have one more. If opposite gravitons are repelled from one another in this thought experiment, wouldn't that mean that, as empty space increases as a result of dark matter, g+ and g- bosons are created via quantum fluctuations, therefore creating more "dark matter" in the form of negative gravitons as time goes on, since g+ and g- bosons don't annihilate due to their opposite charges? – Davis Anderson Oct 26 '21 at 23:28
  • @DavisAnderson: that is not how the weak interaction works, even though the $W^{-}$ and $W^{+}$ particles repel each other. – Zo the Relativist Oct 27 '21 at 13:39