Lifshitz theory of the cosmological constant

TL;DR

This paper extends Lifshitz theory from atomic physics to cosmology, proposing a quantum-optical explanation for dark energy by linking the quantum vacuum forces to the cosmological constant.

Contribution

It develops a Lifshitz theory-based framework that accounts for electromagnetic contributions to the cosmological constant, bridging quantum vacuum effects and cosmological observations.

Findings

Provides a theoretical link between quantum vacuum forces and dark energy.

Suggests a unified quantum-optical explanation for the cosmological constant.

Offers a potential quantitative approach to the dark energy problem.

Abstract

Astrophysics has given empirical evidence for the cosmological constant that accelerates the expansion of the universe. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics has proven experimentally that the quantum vacuum exerts forces - the van der Waals and Casimir forces - on neutral matter. It has long been conjectured [Ya. B. Zel'dovich, Usp. Fiz. Nauk 95, 209 (1968)] that the two empirical facts, the cosmological constant and the Casimir force, have a common theoretical explanation, but all attempts of deriving both from a unified theory in quantitative detail have not been successful so far. In AMO Physics, Lifshitz theory has been the standard theoretical tool for describing the measured forces of the quantum vacuum. This paper develops a version of Lifshitz theory that also accounts for the electromagnetic contribution to the cosmological constant. Assuming that the other fields of the Standard Model behave similarly, gives a possible quantum-optical explanation for what has been called dark energy.