Light and the Weight of Time: Photon Dynamics and Redshift Evolution within a Quantized Temporal Field

This paper investigates, within the explicit assumptions of the Weight of Time theory, the theoretical framework of electromagnetic propagation and cosmic photon dynamics. We examine how a photon traversing an aging macroscopic spacetime might be coupled to an active temporal scaling field W(t) despite experiencing zero local proper time (τ=0) along its null trajectory. By evaluating a modified Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric where g₀₀=-c²W(t)², we derive the analytical evolution of photon momentum and coordinate velocity. This exploratory framework introduces cosmological effective parameters for the speed of light ceff(t) and vacuum permittivity εeff(t), suggesting a possible microphysical contribution to cosmological redshift. This approach offers a potential alternative interpretation for high-redshift structural anomalies, such as those observed in early massive galaxies like GN-z11, without violating local Lorentz invariance or requiring modifications to standard baryonic growth indexes.