The presence of the cosmological constant significantly impacts the formation of structures in the universe, making it more challenging for large gravitationally-bound structures to develop. This phenomenon leads to the decay of gravitational potentials over time, which is observable through the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect. The ISW effect demonstrates a correlation between cosmic microwave background (CMB) hot/cold spots and local structures, confirming the influence of the cosmological constant on cosmic structure formation.
PREREQUISITESAstronomers, cosmologists, and physicists interested in the dynamics of cosmic structure formation and the implications of the cosmological constant on the universe's evolution.
kimbyd said:Yes. The cosmological constant makes it harder for large gravitationally-bound structures to form. It also causes gravitational potentials for larger systems to decay over time (resulting in the Sachs-Wolfe effect).
The effect is most clearly visible using the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe Effect. With no cosmological constant, there should be no correlation between the hot/cold spots on the CMB and local structure. The ISW Effect, however, creates such a correlation because of the aforementioned decay of gravitational potentials. A photon enters a gravitational well. Then, over the time it takes the photon to traverse the well, the well has decayed a bit, meaning the photon gains more energy entering the well than it loses escaping it. The result is a net blueshift. The reverse happens when the photon travels through a large void.lucas_ said:What experiments (if any) can test the presence of the cosmological constant?