The cosmological constant, introduced a century ago by Albert Einstein in his theory of general relativity, is a thorn in the side of physicists. The difference between the theoretical prediction of this parameter and its measurement based on astronomical observations is of the order of 10121. It's no surprise to learn that this estimate is considered the worst in the entire history of physics. In an article to be published in Physics Letters B, a researcher from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, proposes an approach that may seemingly resolve this inconsistency. The original idea in the paper is to accept that another constant—Newton's universal gravitation G, which also forms part of the equations on general relativity—may vary. This potentially major breakthrough, which has been positively received by the scientific community, still needs to be pursued in order to generate predictions that can be confirmed (or refuted) experimentally.
"My work consists of a new mathematical manipulation of the equations of general relativity that finally makes it possible to harmonize theory and observation on the cosmological constant," says Lucas Lombriser, assistant professor in the Department of Theoretical Physics in UNIGE's Faculty of Sciences and sole author of the article.
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