The Unified Framework-Reflective Resonant Shell Cosmology

Abstract We present a single, operational framework in which a finite, closed FRW domain is bounded by a dynamic, reflective shell. This structure is proposed as a successor to the standard ΛCDM model, resolving several fundamental crises. Surface stress on this shell dictates interior expansion via Israel junction conditions [1], naturally reproducing late-time acceleration as a boundary phenomenon without invoking a bulk cosmological constant. This surface stress is demonstrably equivalent to a laboratory-verified value for surface tension, establishing a direct, quantitative link between small-scale terrestrial physics and cosmic-scale dynamics. The same finite geometry acts as an electromagnetic cavity, imprinting characteristic, large-angle structure onto the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) [2]. Crucially, endowing the shell with microscopic quantum degrees of freedom models it as a universal environment for quantum fields. Integrating out the boundary generates small, structured open-system corrections that drive boundary-induced decoherence [3], providing a physical arrow of time and establishing the quantum-to-classical transition. The framework specifies geometric dynamics, minimal parameterization (αq, ϵ=r0/R), and concrete, falsifiable signatures that dramatically reduce the number of required cosmological parameters from six to four.