The Mythical Snake which Swallows its Tail: Einstein's matter world

TL;DR

This paper offers a new interpretation of Einstein's cosmological ideas from 1917 to 1931, highlighting the evolution of his views on the universe's structure, the cosmological constant, and observational evidence.

Contribution

It provides a novel perspective on Einstein's changing stance on cosmological models and the role of the cosmological constant during a pivotal period in cosmology.

Findings

Einstein initially introduced the cosmological constant to achieve a static universe.

He later abandoned the constant after the discovery of universe expansion.

The paper reinterprets Einstein's theoretical and observational considerations during 1917-1931.

Abstract

In 1917 Einstein introduced into his field equations a cosmological term having the cosmological constant as a coefficient, in order that the theory should yield a static universe. Einstein desired to eliminate absolute space from physics according to "Mach's ideas". De Sitter objected to the "world-matter" in Einstein's world, and proposed a vacuum solution of Einstein's field equations with the cosmological constant and with no "world-matter". In 1920 the world-matter of Einstein's world was equivalent to "Mach's Ether", a carrier of the effects of inertia. De Sitter's 1917 solution predicted a spectral shift effect. In 1923 Eddington and Weyl adopted De Sitter's model and studied this effect. Einstein objected to this "cosmological problem". In 1922-1927, Friedmann and Lamaitre published dynamical universe models. Friedmann's model with cosmological constant equal to zero was the simplest general relativity universe. Einstein was willing to accept the mathematics, but not the physics of a dynamical universe. In 1929 Hubble announced the discovery that the actual universe is apparently expanding. In 1931 Einstein accepted Friedmann's model with a cosmological constant equal to zero, which he previously abhorred; he claimed that one did not need the cosmological term anymore. It was very typical to Einstein that he used to do a theoretical work and he cared about experiments and observations. This paper is a new interpretation to Einstein's cosmological considerations over the period 1917-1931.