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4.2    Vacuum energy and cosmological constant

Vacuum energy as modern space ether

Einstein once had eliminated the space ether, to be able to formulate the STR free from contradictions. His radical demand was, light waves need no medium (ether) for their propagation, but can (also) spread out in the absolutely empty space. Since the quantum field theory teaches us, the vacuum also contains energy , this view is no longer viable [22], p.319:
”This corresponds to the fact that the so- called zero point fluctuations of a quantum field never can be suppressed…. besides, such a fluctuation field has the interesting propert that, it is Lorentz- variant, so its spectrum character looks the same, from any inertial system. Applied to such a vacuum, Einstein’s  special- relativistic equivalence principle accordingly seems to be adhered to.”
 Thus, it does exist, the ever present ether of which H. Hertz once said   [23], p. 183: „ ... take the light carrying ether from the world, and the electric and magnetic forces can no longer travel through space". Occasionally, Einstein had later called it „ ether of the GTR"  [24] p. 89.

The cosmological constant as value for the vacuum energy density

Since the detection that the energy of virtual parts, i. e. of steadily composed and decomposed particles- antiparticles pairs supplies a contribution to the basic state of a quantum field, the cosmological constant can be linked to this so- called vacuum energy.“ According to [10], p. 128:
                    (16)
(L = cosmological constant, ev = rvc2 = energy density of the vacuum)
By conversion of eq. (6), we receive
              (17)
 (e = r c 2 = average total energy density for a plane universe)
 Therefore, with(16) and (17) results,  for the cosmological constant:
                       (18)
 It is very strange now, between the vacuum energy density deducible from the quantum field theory and that admissible by observations, there gapes a huge difference of 120 powers of ten (10 120) , which is regarded as a fundamental problem by some scientists. Fortunately, there also are other theoretical formulations than those of the elementary particles physics to quantify the energy density in the vacuum.
Leibnitz  (1646-1716) already stated [13], p.278: „There is no space without matter.”
In his book “ Movements”,  Bishop Berkeley had pointed out in 1721 [13], p.279: „ ... that space per se would be emptiness and therefore nothing; its sole property would be the extension, and without a basic distribution of matter, this property was senseless.”
 
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