66 research outputs found
Physics of dark energy particles
We consider the astrophysical and cosmological implications of the existence
of a minimum density and mass due to the presence of the cosmological constant.
If there is a minimum length in nature, then there is an absolute minimum mass
corresponding to a hypothetical particle with radius of the order of the Planck
length. On the other hand, quantum mechanical considerations suggest a
different minimum mass. These particles associated with the dark energy can be
interpreted as the ``quanta'' of the cosmological constant. We study the
possibility that these particles can form stable stellar-type configurations
through gravitational condensation, and their Jeans and Chandrasekhar masses
are estimated. From the requirement of the energetic stability of the minimum
density configuration on a macroscopic scale one obtains a mass of the order of
10^55 g, of the same order of magnitude as the mass of the universe. This mass
can also be interpreted as the Jeans mass of the dark energy fluid. Furthermore
we present a representation of the cosmological constant and of the total mass
of the universe in terms of `classical' fundamental constants.Comment: 10 pages, no figures; typos corrected, 4 references added; 1
reference added; reference added; entirely revised version, contains new
parts, now 14 page
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