Matter Inferred from Geometry

A rudimentary model universe is developed in the context of classical General Relativity, incorporating gravitational and electromagnetic fields. The behavior of the system is determined by an invariant action which includes contributions characterizing paths through the fields. No matter is assumed á priori. The existence of matter in the form of point particles arises from the equations of motion of the system, and particle masses appear as integration constants of the path equations. The derived masses act as sources of spacetime curvature, as well as measures of inertia. A modified Nordström/Reissner metric describes the gravitational field of each particle. The point particles exhibit characteristics qualitatively similar to the properties of observed particles.