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arXiv · 1704.00069

100 years of the Cosmological Constant: what's next?

Ofer Lahav
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Abstract

The Cosmological Constant $Λ$, in different incarnations, has been with us for 100 years. Many surveys of dark energy are underway, indicating so far that the data are consistent with a dark energy equation of state of $w=-1$, i.e. a $Λ$ term in Einstein's equation, although time variation of $w$ is not yet ruled out. The ball is now back in the theoreticians' court, to explain the physical meaning of $Λ$. We discuss sociological aspects of this field, in particular to what extent the agreement on the cold dark matter + $Λ$ concordance model is a result of the globalization of research and over-communication.

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Ofer Lahav. 2017-03-31. 100 years of the Cosmological Constant: what's next?. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51700-1-13

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