Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Origin of the cosmological constant

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Astrophysics and Space Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The observed value of the cosmological constant corresponds to a time scale that is very close to the current conformal age of the universe. Here we show that this is not a coincidence but is caused by a periodic boundary condition, which only manifests itself when the metric is represented in Euclidian spacetime. The circular property of the metric in Euclidian spacetime becomes an exponential evolution (de Sitter or \(\varLambda \) term) in ordinary spacetime. The value of \(\varLambda \) then gets uniquely linked to the period in Euclidian conformal time, which corresponds to the conformal age of the universe. Without the use of any free model parameters we predict the value of the dimensionless parameter \(\varOmega _{\varLambda }\) to be 67.2%, which is within \(2\sigma \) of the value derived from CMB observations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Einstein, A.: Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin), 142 (1917)

  • Gibbons, G.W., Perry, M.J.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 36, 985 (1976)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawking, S.W.: Nature 248, 30 (1974)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • McCoy, B.M.: arXiv e-prints: hep-th/9403084 (1994)

  • Misner, C.W., Thorne, K.S., Wheeler, J.A.: Gravitation. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco (1973)

    Google Scholar 

  • Peebles, P.J.E.: Principles of Physical Cosmology. Princeton University Press, Princeton (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  • Perlmutter, S., Aldering, G., Goldhaber, G., et al.: Astrophys. J. 517, 565 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Planck Collaboration, Aghanim, N., Akrami, Y., Ashdown, M., et al.: arXiv e-prints: 1807.06209v1 [astro-ph.CO] (2018)

  • Riess, A.G., Filippenko, A.V., Challis, P., et al.: Astron. J. 116, 1009 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Stenflo, J.O.: arXiv e-prints: 1901.01317v1 [physics.gen-ph] (2019)

  • Weinberg, S.: Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 2607 (1987)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Zee, A.: Quantum Field Theory in a Nutshell, 2nd edn. Princeton University Press, Princeton (2010)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Particle Physics and Astrophysics, ETH Zurich, 8093, Zurich, Switzerland

    J. O. Stenflo

  2. Istituto Ricerche Solari Locarno (IRSOL), Via Patocchi, 6605, Locarno-Monti, Switzerland

    J. O. Stenflo

Authors
  1. J. O. Stenflo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. O. Stenflo.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stenflo, J.O. Origin of the cosmological constant. Astrophys Space Sci 364, 143 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-019-3636-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10509-019-3636-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation