The Cosmological constant problem

Philippe Brax (1)

1 SPhT - Service de Physique Théorique

Observational evidence seems to indicate that the expansion of the universe is currently accelerating. Such an acceleration strongly suggests that the content of the universe is dominated by a non-clustered form of matter, the so-called dark energy. The cosmological constant, introduced by Einstein to reconcile General Relativity with a closed and static Universe, is the most likely candidate for dark energy although other options such as a weakly interacting field, also known as quintessence, have been proposed. The fact that the dark energy density is some one hundred and twenty orders of magnitude lower than the energy scales present in the early universe constitutes the cosmological constant problem. We review various aspects of the cosmological constant problem and some interesting scenarios using supersymmetry or extra-dimensions attempting to solve one of the most puzzling issues in physics.

Domaines: Physique Générale [physics.gen-ph]

Philippe Brax. The Cosmological constant problem. Contemporary Physics, 2004, 45, pp.227-236. ⟨10.1080/00107510410001662286⟩. ⟨hal-00165345⟩