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Walther Nernst: Grandfather of dark energy?
Abstract
Helge Kragh examines the origin of a concept that heralds the ideas of modern cosmology.
... The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript: Lenz [15] was the first to make such a comparison (see, e.g., [16][17][18] and references therein for historical notes). 2 Recently, there has been evidence of an early dark energy component at slightly higher energies (at the eV rather than the milli-eV scale) [45,46]. Similar to dark energy, there is the question of what early dark energy is made of. ...
... This problem can be avoided if topological curvature invariants are also considered, as discussed in [115,116]. 17 We denote the rank of a p-form by the subscript (p). 18 On a more fundamental level, the occurrence of F (4) can be linked to the presence of membranes, but it has been argued that such an explanation might compromise the mechanism [108]. ...
The cosmological constant and its phenomenology remain among the greatest puzzles in theoretical physics. We review how modifications of Einstein’s general relativity could alleviate the different problems associated with it that result from the interplay of classical gravity and quantum field theory. We introduce a modern and concise language to describe the problems associated with its phenomenology, and inspect no-go theorems and their loopholes to motivate the approaches discussed here. Constrained gravity approaches exploit minimal departures from general relativity; massive gravity introduces mass to the graviton; Horndeski theories lead to the breaking of translational invariance of the vacuum; and models with extra dimensions change the symmetries of the vacuum. We also review screening mechanisms that have to be present in some of these theories if they aim to recover the success of general relativity on small scales as well. Finally, we summarize the statuses of these models in their attempts to solve the different cosmological constant problems while being able to account for current astrophysical and cosmological observations.
... By the late 80s, due to the perturbative UV incompleteness of GR [21,22], it was expected that a quantum version of the theory would fix Λ. Prior to the discovery of the accelerated cosmological expansion, popular attempts of doing so were based on 2 Lenz [15] was the first to make such a comparison (see e.g. [16][17][18] and references therein for historical notes). supergravity theories, which typically do not allow a positive cosmological constant. ...
... The cancellation of the matter loop corrections to the cosmological constant operates as in the global case, but there is now an extra term ∆Λ in the residual cosmological constant. This is the 17 We denote the rank of a p-form by the subscript (p). ...
The cosmological constant and its phenomenology remain among the greatest puzzles in theoretical physics. We review how modifications of Einstein's general relativity could alleviate the different problems associated with it that result from the interplay of classical gravity and quantum field theory. We introduce a modern and concise language to describe the problems associated with its phenomenology, and inspect no-go theorems and their loopholes to motivate the approaches discussed here. Constrained gravity approaches exploit minimal departures from general relativity; massive gravity introduces mass to the graviton; Horndeski theories lead to the breaking of translational invariance of the vacuum; and models with extra dimensions change the symmetries of the vacuum. We also review screening mechanisms that have to be present in some of these theories if they aim to recover the success of general relativity on small scales as well. Finally, we summarise the statuses of these models in their attempt to solve the different cosmological constant problems while being able to account for current astrophysical and cosmological observations.
... The concept of an ether has a long history stretching from Plato and Aristotle over Descartes's theory of gravity to the many Michelson-Morley experiments searching for a medium for the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Walter Nernst proposed that radioactive atoms are created in an ether(Kragh 2012) and Mendeleev(Mendeleev 1904) claimed that there are two chemical elements, the element X (Newtonium) and Y (Coronium) with lower atomic weights than hydrogen that make up the ether. ...
The exploration of chemical periodicity over the past 250 years led to the development of the Periodic System of Elements and demonstrates the value of vague ideas that ignored early scientific anomalies and instead allowed for extended periods of normal science where new methodologies and concepts are developed. The basic chemical element provides this exploration with direction and explanation and has shown to be a central and historically adaptable concept for a theory of matter far from the reductionist frontier. This is explored in the histories of Prout's hypothesis, Döbereiner Triads, element inversions necessary when ordering chemical elements by atomic weights, and van den Broeck's ad-hoc proposal to switch to nuclear charges instead. The development of more accurate methods to determine atomic weights, Rayleigh and Ramsey's gas separation and analytical techniques, Moseley's x-ray spectroscopy to identify chemical elements, and more recent accelerator-based cold fusion methods to create new elements at the end of the Periodic Table point to the importance of methodological development complementing conceptual advances. I propose to frame the crossover from physics to chemistry not as a loss of accuracy and precision but as an increased application of vague concepts such as similarity which permit classification. This approach provides epistemic flexibility to adapt to scientific anomalies and the continued growth of chemical compound space and rejects the Procrustean philosophy of reductionist physics. Furthermore, it establishes chemistry with its explanatory and operational autonomy epitomized by the periodic system of elements as a gateway to other experimental sciences.
If Dark Matter halos possess the gravitational equivalent of an intrinsic magnetic spin, a formal analogy exists between the low redshift behaviour of the Cosmic Web in a flat FLRW background, and a crystal of spins submerged in a thermal reservoir with temperature . We argue that, within the use of the Bianchi type IX geometry to describe the gravitational collapse of matter inhomogeneities, the spins are nothing but the heritage of its underlying SU(2) symmetry. Therefore, just like electrons in quantum mechanics, these structures may have spin independently from their orbital angular momentum. We explore the phenomenological implications on cosmological scales of a possible late time phase transition of the Cosmic Web towards (the gravitational equivalent of) a ferromagnetic state, described qualitatively using the Ising model in the mean field approximation.
This chapter is conceived as a brief exposition of the content of the previous nine chapters, a commentary on them and added material, with the intent to enlarge reflection on the general theme, Physical Chemistry in Action. It can be considered as a guide to the book and, in its attempt to be syncretic, perhaps as a guide to the perplexed, confronted with the separate domains of physical chemistry, astrochemistry and astrobiology.
Wolfgang Priester (1924-2005) was one of Germany's most versatile and quixotic astrophysicists, reinventing himself successively as a radio astronomer, space physicist and cosmologist, and making a lasting impact on each field. We focus in this personal account on his contributions to cosmology, where he will be most remembered for his association with quasars, his promotion of the idea of a nonsingular "big bounce" at the beginning of the current expansionary phase, and his recognition of the importance of dark energy (Einstein's cosmological constant Lambda) well before this became the standard paradigm in cosmology.
In this written version of a pre-dinner-speech at the workshop "The Nature of Gravity" at ISSI I illustrate Pauli's science primarily with material that has not formally been published by him, but was communicated in detailed letters to eminent colleagues and friends. Comment: 18 pages, invited talk at the Workshop "The Nature of Gravity", at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), 6 - 10 October 2008, Bern, Switzerland
Dark energy is one of the biggest mysteries in science. In this article
the origin of the concept is traced as far back as Newton and Hooke in
the 17th century. Newton considered, along with the inverse-square law,
a force of attraction that varies linearly with distance. A direct link
can be made between this term and Einstein's cosmological constant,
∧, and this leads to a possible relation between ∧ and the total
mass of the universe. Mach's influence on Einstein is discussed and the
convoluted history of ∧ throughout the last 90 years is coherently
presented.
ACCORDING to quantum mechanics, a harmonic oscillator of frequency v has a lowest energy state the energy of which is ½hv. When the electromagnetic field is treated, after Rayleigh and Jeans, and Debye, as an assemblage of independent harmonic oscillators, one of which is associated with each of the normal modes of vibration of the ether, this leads to the result that there is present in all space an infinite positive energy density. It is infinite because there is supposed to be no upper limit to the frequencies of possible normal modes.
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Max Planck introduced the concept of zero-point energy in spring 1911. In the early struggles to establish the concept of the energy-quantum, it provided a helpful heuristic principle, to guide as well as supplement the efforts of some leading physicists in understanding the laws that applied in the atomic domain. The history and growth of this concept, and its application in the general development of quantum theory during the past many decades are studied under three principal headings: (1) The Birth of the Concept of zero-Point Energy; (2) Does Zero-Point Energy Really Exist? and (3) The Ground State of Quantum Systems.
This book retraces the life of the physicist Wolfgang Pauli, analyses
his scientific work, and describes the evolution of his thinking. Pauli
spent 30 years as a professor at the Federal Institute of Technology ETH
in Zurich, which occupy a central place in this biography. It would be
incomplete, however, without a rendering of Pauli's sarcastic wit and,
most importantly, of the world of his dreams. It is through the latter
that quite a different aspect of Pauli's life comes in, namely his
association with the psychology of C.G. Jung and his school.
L'A. etudie une branche non-standard de la cosmologie de l'entre-deux-guerres qu'il nomme la cosmologie Nernst-MacMillan, selon laquelle l'univers se maintiendrait dans un etat stationnaire. A l'oppose de la tradition relativiste, ce modele tente d'etablir une cosmologie physique qui anticipe dans les annees 1920 la theorie moderne du steady-state
During the last twenty years, dramatic improvements in methods of observing astrophysical phenomena from the ground and in space have added to our knowledge of what the universe is like now and what it was like in the past, going back to the hot big bang. In this overview of today's physical cosmology, P.J.E. Peebles shows how observation has combined with theoretical elements to establish the subject as a mature science, while he also discusses the most notable recent attempts to understand the origin and structure of the universe. A successor to Peebles's classic volume Physical Cosmology (Princeton, 1971), the book is a comprehensive overview addressed not only to students but also to scientists active in fields outside cosmology. The first chapter of the work presents the elements of physical cosmology, including the history of the discovery of the expanding universe. The second, on the cosmological tests that measure the geometry of spacetime, discusses general relativity theory as the basis for the tests, and then surveys the broad variety of ways the tests can be applied with the new generations of telescopes and detectors. The third chapter deals with the origin of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe, and reviews ideas about how the evolution of the universe might be traced back to very early epochs when structure originated. Each section of these chapters begins with an introduction that can be understood with no special knowledge beyond undergraduate physics, and then progresses to more specialized topics. P.J.E. Peebles is Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society.
Die aus Heisenbergs Anstzen in Teil I dieser Arbeit entwickelte Quantenmechanik wird auf Systeme von beliebig vielen Freiheitsgraden ausgedehnt. Die Strungstheorie wird fr nicht entartete und eine groe Klasse entarteter Systeme durchgefhrt und ihr Zusammenhang mit der Eigenwerttheorie Hermite scher Formen nachgewiesen. Die gewonnenen Resultate werden zur Ableitung der Stze ber Impuls und Drehimpuls und zur Ableitung von Auswahlregeln und Intensittsformeln benutzt. Schlielich werden die Anstze der Theorie auf die Statistik der Eigenschwingungen eines Hohlraumes angewendet.
In Weiterfhrung der Diracschen Theorie, bei der die elektrodynamischen Feldgren als nicht vertauschbare Zahlen (q-Zahlen) angesehen werden, werden hier, wenigstens im Spezialfall des Fehlens von geladenen Teilchen (reines Strahlungsfeld), Vertauschungsrelationen zwischen den Feldgren aufgestellt, die eine relativistisch invariante Form haben. Es wird gezeigt, da diese Relationen auch ohne Benutzung der Fourierzerlegung des Feldes formuliert werden knnen. Ferner wird eine allgemeine mathematische Methode angegeben, die gestattet, Relationen zwischen q-Zahlen, die von Raum- und Zeitkoordinaten stetig abhngen (q-Funktionen), umzudeuten in Relationen zwischen geeignet gewhlten Operatoren, die auf verallgemeinerte, vom ganzen Feldverlauf abhngige -Funktionen (Funktionale) anzuwenden sind.
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