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The cosmological constant (a modern view)

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Abstract

We briefly discuss a modern view of the cosmological constant. It is suggested that the cosmological constant was “hardened” at E ∼ 150 MeV after the latest (quark-gluon) phase transition. Until this energy was reached, the vacuum component of the Universe evolved (decreased) in a series of discontinuous jumps; i.e., condensates of quantum fields made negative contributions to its positive energy density. This was the quintessence period of the evolution of the Universe, when it underwent an intense loss of symmetry during the first fractions of a microsecond of its existence. However, this point of view is not without criticism, and other approaches are considered. In particular, the small value of the cosmological constant and its ability to accelerate the expansion of the Universe is of great interest. Although all available data on the cosmological constant were recently summarized and classified by S. Nobbenhuis, no satisfactory solution to this problemhas been reached, and this represents a major difficulty for progress in quantum-gravity theory and cosmology. We briefly discuss the possibility for stars to be formed from dark energy (vacuum stars) and the extension of holographic ideas to the entire Universe. We also consider the possibility of solving the problem of the cosmological constant by introducing a universal wave function; i.e., quantum decoherence, which implies the rejection of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and the acceptance of H. Everett’s point of view.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astro Space Center, Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya ul. 84/32, Moscow, 117810, Russia

    V. V. Burdyuzha

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Original Russian Text © V.V. Burdyuzha, 2009, published in Astronomicheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2009, Vol. 86, No. 5, pp. 419–427.

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Burdyuzha, V.V. The cosmological constant (a modern view). Astron. Rep. 53, 381–388 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063772909050011

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