The cosmological constant as a zero action boundary

The cosmological constant Λ is usually interpreted as Dark Energy (DE) or modified gravity (MG). Here, we propose instead that Λ corresponds to a boundary term in the action of classical General Relativity. The action is zero for a perfect fluid solution and this fixes Λ to the average density ρ and...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Gaztañaga, Enrique
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/262148
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/262148
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cosmic background radiation
Cosmological parameters
Cosmology: dark energy
Early Universe
Inflation
Descripción
Sumario:The cosmological constant Λ is usually interpreted as Dark Energy (DE) or modified gravity (MG). Here, we propose instead that Λ corresponds to a boundary term in the action of classical General Relativity. The action is zero for a perfect fluid solution and this fixes Λ to the average density ρ and pressure p inside a primordial causal boundary: Λ = 4πG <ρ+3p >. This explains both why the observed value of Λ is related to the matter density today and also why other contributions to Λ, such as DE or MG, do not produce cosmic expansion. Cosmic acceleration results from the repulsive boundary force that occurs when the expansion reaches the causal horizon. This universe is similar to the ΛCDM universe, except on the largest observable scales, where we expect departures from homogeneity/isotropy, such as CMB anomalies and variations in cosmological parameters indicated by recent observations.