The Photon Paradox: Why Dark Matter May Be Hidden in Ordinary Light

I propose a novel theoretical framework in which dark matter originates from the hidden gravitational mass associated with ordinary photons. Through a string-scale entanglement with the Higgs field, photons acquire a tiny, scale-dependent effective gravitational mass. The enormous number of photons in the observable universe (approximately 1.47 x 10^89) produces a cumulative gravitational effect that naturally accounts for the observed dark matter density (Ω_DM) without requiring any new elementary particles. To ensure sufficient dark matter during the critical epoch of cosmic structure formation, the model includes a transient early-universe component called the Genesis Field. This component later transitions smoothly to the dominant photon-string-Higgs entanglement mechanism at late times.

The model reproduces the observed dark-to-baryonic matter ratio (Ω_DM/Ω_b ≈ 5.5) and remains compatible with key precision observations while offering testable predictions in both cosmology and laboratory experiments. It further predicts the possible reconversion of accumulated dark matter back into ordinary radiation during extreme astrophysical events such as neutron star mergers or black hole collisions.

##Main updates in Version 1.7 compared to Version 1.6:

• Refined the transition dynamics of the cosmological thermal block (Section 3.1) by substituting the earlier thermodynamic IGM formulation with a robust, field-theoretic justification based on scalar effective potential flatness and cosmological Hubble damping.
• Adopted a strictly objective, scientifically neutral tone across all descriptive segments, transitioning to a single-author narrative ("I propose", "I introduce") for all theoretical framework hypotheses while preserving the collective mathematical exposition.
• Streamlined all Figure captions (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) and Table 1 formatting to ensure complete internal consistency regarding the logarithmic density scaling and relative dark matter fraction limits.
• Updated Section 5 (Discussion) and the bibliography to incorporate the latest June 2026 JWST/NASA observational parameters from Kokorev et al. (z = 3.501) and the updated JADES catalog limits (z = 2-15), providing immediate empirical context for the predicted late-time breakdown threshold of the thermal block.
•