cosmological constant

American

noun

Astronomy.

a term introduced by Einstein into his field equations of general relativity to permit a stationary, nonexpanding universe: it has since been abandoned in most models of the universe.

Etymology

Origin of cosmological constant

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Henry Tye, the Horace White Professor of Physics Emeritus in the College of Arts and Sciences, arrived at this conclusion by updating a long standing model built around the "cosmological constant."

From Science Daily

This relationship could help explain the positive cosmological constant associated with the accelerating expansion of the universe.

From Science Daily

"This would be our first indication that dark energy is not the cosmological constant introduced by Einstein over 100 years ago but a new, dynamical phenomenon," explained Josh Frieman, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

From Science Daily

A cosmological constant is a famous part of Einstein's General Relativity theory, and refers to an arbitrary constant that is present in all related field equations.

From Salon

Theorists could account for this force by adding a cosmological constant, lambda, to Albert Einstein’s theory of gravity.

From Science Magazine

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023