Gravity as Cumulative Relativistic Interaction Delay: A Mach-Like Interpretation and the Discrete Cosmology Model

The finite propagation speed of physical interactions implies that gravitational influence from extended matter distributions must reflect cumulative relativistic interaction delays. This work explores the possibility that gravitational curvature can be interpreted as the macroscopic manifestation of such accumulated delays. In this interpretation, interactions propagate through matter distributions along causal propagation paths connecting the source region and the observer. The finite propagation speed produces sequential relativistic delays whose cumulative value defines an effective interaction-delay potential measured relative to an observer in the center-of-mass frame of the system. Spatial variations of this delay potential generate gradients that are mathematically equivalent to the Newtonian gravitational potential in the weak-field limit. Empirical observations across several physical scales suggest a connection between internal propagation speeds and gravitational potentials. In particular, seismic wave velocities within planetary interiors are often comparable to the corresponding escape velocities, while galaxies and galaxy clusters exhibit systematic relations between velocity dispersion and gravitational acceleration. These patterns indicate that gravitational dynamics may be closely related to propagation processes within self-gravitating matter distributions. This perspective connects naturally with Mach-like relational ideas and thermodynamic interpretations of gravity, such as the equation-of-state derivation of Einstein’s equations proposed by Ted Jacobson. Within this framework, the Discrete Delay Model (DDM) is introduced as a possible microscopic realization in which discrete quantum interactions generate cumulative relativistic delays whose macroscopic manifestation appears as space–time curvature. In this view, several phenomena commonly attributed to dark matter or dark energy may reflect variations in interaction-delay propagation rather than unseen cosmic components.