Year: 2022
Type: preprint
Abstract: The anthropic explanation for the peculiarly small observed value of the cosmological constant $Λ_{\rm obs}$ argues that this value promotes the formation of stars, planets, and ultimately of observers such as ourselves. I show that a recent analytic model of cosmic star formation predicts that although $Λ_{\rm obs}$ maximises the overall efficiency of star formation in the universe, the probability of generating observers peaks at $\sim400-500 \, Λ_{\rm obs}$. These preliminary results suggest that an immediate connection between star formation efficiency and observers' generation is not straightforward, and highlight the subtleties involved with the application of anthropic reasoning.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Sorini, Daniele
Institutions: Royal Observatory, University of Edinburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G4797290328, G8271379602
OpenAlex ID: W4223938932