I wonder if it isn't something operating outside the Universe.

An inexact analogy might be a bubble of steam in a pan of water. A sentient being on the surface of one of the neutrons with a knowledge of thermodynamics and a VERY limited view of his "universe" might think that his universe should be expanding faster than it is.

The pressure from the external column of water would be transmitted through each molecule and atom in that universe. The effects could be observed by our person on the neutron, but he couldn't account for the cause or predict the effect with his "local" knowledge of physics.

A thought.

Arf