Work

On the cosmological constant problem

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: An additional variation of the Einstein-Hilbert action with respect to the Planck mass provides a constraint on the average Ricci scalar that prevents vacuum energy from gravitating. Consideration of the evolution of the inhomogeneous matter distribution in the Universe with evaluation of the averaging constraint on disconnected matter cells that ultimately form isolated gravitationally bound structures yields a backreaction effect that self-consistently produces the cosmological constant of the background. A uniform prior on our location in the formation of these isolated structures implies a mean expectation for the present cosmological constant energy density parameter of ΩΛ=0.704, giving rise to a late-time acceleration of the cosmic expansion and a coincident current energy density of matter.

Source: Physics Letters B

DOI: 10.1016/j.physletb.2019.134804

Author: Lucas Lombriser

Institution: University of Geneva

Language: English

Topic: Cosmology and Gravitation Theories

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: National Science Foundation, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

Award: Hearing and Feeling in the Dark: How to Shed Light on the Dark Sector with Gravitational Waves and Large-Scale Structure