Best evidence that "dark energy" is Cosmological Constant
Friday, December 19, 2008 - 02:57
in Astronomy & Space
Einstein introduced the Cosmological Constant into his formulation of General Relativity to eliminate the uniform expansion or contraction of the universe that seemed to be inevitable without it. After Hubble's work revealed an expanding universe, Einstein called the constant his "greatest mistake." But in recent years, the discovery of an accelerated expansion of the universe led scientists to postulate the existence of "dark energy." One candidate for that dark energy is--you guessed it--the Cosmological Constant. (I discuss this as an open question in my book Physics: Decade by Decade.) New research now supports that notion, though the evidence is far from conclusive. read more