fuindordm
Adventurer
For all those interested in cosmology, relativity and astrophysics:
We just had a press release from the folks studying the expansion of the universe, the acceleration of that expansion, and the cosmological constant.
http://www.edpsciences.org/journal/...iv1=others&niv2=press_release&niv3=PRaa200512
The first year's worth of data from measuring the distances to far-off supernovae are in, and the results are impressive. Not only has the acceleration been confirmed and measured to 10% precision, but they've determined that the 'dark energy' is wholly consistent with Einstein's cosmological constant. The physical origin of the cosmological constant is still unknown, but the article notes that the magnitude of the vacuum energy density required is still 10^60 times LESS than the lowest estimates from particle physics.
And yet, not zero. Everything would have been so simple if it had been zero... the eternal lament of physicists.
Enjoy!
Ben
We just had a press release from the folks studying the expansion of the universe, the acceleration of that expansion, and the cosmological constant.
http://www.edpsciences.org/journal/...iv1=others&niv2=press_release&niv3=PRaa200512
The first year's worth of data from measuring the distances to far-off supernovae are in, and the results are impressive. Not only has the acceleration been confirmed and measured to 10% precision, but they've determined that the 'dark energy' is wholly consistent with Einstein's cosmological constant. The physical origin of the cosmological constant is still unknown, but the article notes that the magnitude of the vacuum energy density required is still 10^60 times LESS than the lowest estimates from particle physics.
And yet, not zero. Everything would have been so simple if it had been zero... the eternal lament of physicists.
Enjoy!
Ben