Physics Colloquium: Casimir cosmology

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/84097289852?pwd=bj3ZxsNaOBpvlemc35waxxSLLZ541f.1

Abstract: 

The standard model of cosmology, the Lambda Cold Dark Matter model, is named after its two main constituents: cold dark matter and the cosmological constant Lambda (also known as dark energy). Both make up 95% of the current mass density. Both are unknown, but the model describes the data very well over three orders of magnitude of cosmic expansion history. Yet during the last decade some discrepances between theory and observations have appeared that are increasingly less disputable. These are the cosmological tensions. In this lecture I argue that the tensions may come from an incomplete understanding of the quantum vacuum. Insights from atomic, molecular and optical physics on the nature of the vacuum suggest a theory that fits the data better. It already resolves the two most prominent tensions, all without the need for new physics. No new fields are needed, only new ideas in fields as old as quantum electromagnetism. 

Event Organizer: Dr. Tobias Holder