Abstract
The cosmological constant, also known as dark energy, was believed to be caused by vacuum fluctuations, but naive calculations give results in stark disagreement with fact. In the Casimir effect, vacuum fluctuations cause forces in dielectric media, which is very well described by Lifshitz theory. Recently, using the analogy between geometries and media, a cosmological constant of the correct order of magnitude was calculated with Lifshitz theory (Leonhardt 2019 Ann. Phys. (New York) 411, 167973. (doi:10.1016/j.aop.2019.167973)). This paper discusses the empirical evidence and the ideas behind the Lifshitz theory of the cosmological constant without requiring prior knowledge of cosmology and quantum field theory.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The next generation of analogue gravity experiments’.
This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The next generation of analogue gravity experiments’.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 20190229 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
| Volume | 378 |
| Issue number | 2177 |
| Early online date | 20 Jul 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Aug 2020 |
Funding
This paper would be impossible without my students (in alphabetical order) Yael Avni, Nimrod Nir, Itay Griniasty, Sahar Sahebdivan and William Simpson. I also thank Mikhail Isachenkov, Ephraim Shahmoon, and Anna and Yana Zilberg for discussions, support and inspiration. Funding - European Research Council, Israel Science Foundation, Murray B. Koffler Professorial Chair.