Electromagnetic Origin of Particle Masses and Gravity: a Relativistic Theory

Abstract

The theory of direct particle interaction proposed in our previous works is further developed. In this theory, the electromagnetic interaction is primary whereas the emergence of particle masses and gravity are its consequences. The equation of motion is generalized to arbitrary velocities of the selected particle (rather than small ones). With the introduction of an effective metric, a correspondence between this theory and General Relativity (GR) is established. It is shown that the theory reproduces GR effects associated with the Schwarzschild and Friedmann metrics: planetary perihelion shift, light deflection by a massive body, gravitational redshift and cosmological redshift. However, a general correspondence with GR is achieved under some restrictions (at sufficiently low speeds, small components of the gravitational potential, but sufficiently large accelerations). In the theory, there is a parameter with the dimension of acceleration, approximately equal to $$7\times 10^{-10}$$ m/s$${}^{2}$$ and close to the parameter $$a_{0}$$ in modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). Perhaps our theory can serve as a theoretical basis for MOND.