“This vacuum energy also has a meaning in general relativity,” the Luxembourg scientist notes: “It manifests itself in the cosmological constant Einstein included into his equations for physical reasons.”

A colossal mismatch Unlike vacuum energy, which can only be deduced from the formulae of quantum field theory, the cosmological constant can be determined directly by astrophysical experiments.

Unconventional way of interpretation Together with his Luxembourg research colleague Dr. Dmitry Fedorov, he has now brought the solution to this puzzle, which has been open for decades, a significant step closer.

Consistent values and verifiable forecasts “Our work thus offers an elegant and unconventional approach to solving the riddle of the cosmological constant,” sums up the physicist.

He sees the new results obtained together with Alexandre Tkatchenko as the first step toward a better understanding of dark energy — and its connection to Albert Einstein’s cosmological constant.

Reference: “Casimir Self-Interaction Energy Density of Quantum Electrodynamic Fields” by Alexandre Tkatchenko and Dmitry V. Fedorov, 24 January 2023, Physical Review Letters.