Cosmological constant and vacuum energy

TL;DR

This paper explores the thermodynamic properties of the quantum vacuum, showing how the cosmological constant is regulated by matter and how vacuum energy cancels out in equilibrium, aligning with Einstein's views.

Contribution

It provides a thermodynamic framework for understanding vacuum energy regulation and the cosmological constant in both Einstein and special relativity contexts.

Findings

Vacuum energy cancels out in empty universes.

In matter-filled universes, vacuum energy density is proportional to matter density.

The analysis aligns with Einstein's perspective on the cosmological constant.

Abstract

The general thermodynamic analysis of the quantum vacuum, which is based on our knowledge of the vacua in condensed-matter systems, is consistent with the Einstein earlier view on the cosmological constant. In the equilibrium Universes the value of the cosmological constant is regulated by matter. In the empty Universe, the vacuum energy is exactly zero, lambda=0. The huge contribution of the zero point motion of the quantum fields to the vacuum energy is exactly cancelled by the higher-energy degrees of freedom of the quantum vacuum. In the equilibrium Universes homogeneously filled by matter, the vacuum is disturbed, and density of the vacuum energy becomes proportional to the energy density of matter. This consideration applies to any equilibrium vacuum irrespective of whether the vacuum is false or true, and is valid both in the Einstein general theory of relativity and within the special theory of relativity, i.e. in the world without gravity.