The case for a Casimir cosmology

Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences
Ulf Leonhardt

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'.

References

Aug 14, 1995·Physical Review Letters·T Jacobson
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Mar 15, 1929·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·E Hubble
Jan 9, 2009·Nature·J N MundayV Adrian Parsegian
Aug 8, 2009·Physical Review Letters·M T Homer ReidSteven G Johnson
Jun 7, 2019·Science·Rongkuo ZhaoXiang Zhang

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Citations

Jul 21, 2020·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·M J JacquetF König

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