Interpreting the Nature of Dark Energy within the ITC Framework: A Relational Network Resolving the Vacuum Energy Catastrophe

This paper directly addresses one of the most severe contradictions in modern physics—the vacuum energy catastrophe, i.e., the 120‑order‑of‑magnitude discrepancy between the vacuum energy density predicted by quantum field theory and the observed dark energy density. Unlike existing approaches that attempt to patch the contradiction within the frameworks of quantum field theory or general relativity, this work introduces a fundamental paradigm shift. Based on the Instantaneous Teleportation Cosmos (ITC) framework, we redefine the fundamental reality of the universe as a globally instantaneously connected relational network, in which classical spacetime, distance, and even time are emergent phenomena projected from this underlying network at macroscopic scales. Within this framework, the nature of dark energy receives a mechanistic explanation: it is derived as the “topological maintenance energy” that the network must generate to preserve its global connectivity. Its equation of state w=-1 follows rigorously from the energy conservation equation in the Friedmann framework, rather than being introduced as a free parameter. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the vacuum energy catastrophe originates from a category mistake: the microscopic fluctuation energy calculated by quantum field theory belongs to the “spacetime‑as‑container” assumption, whereas the observed dark energy corresponds to the macroscopic structural energy of the entire relational network. These two quantities describe different physical entities and are therefore incomparable, rendering the numerical contradiction naturally dissolved. This study transforms the origin of cosmic acceleration from a numerically bizarre puzzle into an intelligible geometric and topological property, offering a novel relational perspective on the ultimate nature of spacetime and matter.