Vacuum energy length scale detectable by the Casimir effect?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the implications of Sean Carroll's work regarding the cosmological constant and vacuum energy density, specifically the observation that the vacuum energy density is constrained to |\rho^{(obs)}_\Lambda|\le (10^{-12}\ \rm{GeV})^4. This leads to the hypothesis that the minimum length scale of zero-point normal modes of quantum fields could be around ##\lambda \sim (\rm{meV})^{-1}\sim \rm{mm}##. However, it is concluded that this millimeter cutoff length is not detectable through Casimir effect experiments, as the Casimir effect can be explained independently of vacuum energy considerations.

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  • Understanding of the cosmological constant and its implications in quantum field theory.
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  • Knowledge of vacuum energy density and its measurement in natural units.
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jcap
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According to Sean Carroll's The Cosmological constant(https://arxiv.org/pdf/astro-ph/0004075.pdf) (Eqn.20) cosmological observations imply that the magnitude of the vacuum energy density in natural units is given by
$$|\rho^{(obs)}_\Lambda|\le (10^{-12}\ \rm{GeV})^4.$$
Does this imply that the minimum length scale of the zero-point normal modes of quantum fields in the vacuum are of the order of ##\lambda \sim (\rm{meV})^{-1}\sim \rm{mm}## ?

If this is true then would this millimeter cutoff length be detectable by Casimir effect-type experiments?
 
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jcap said:
If this is true then would this millimeter cutoff length be detectable by Casimir effect-type experiments?

No. Because the Casimir effect can be explained without any recourse to the vacuum, it cannot tell us anything ebout the vacuum.
 
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