One Hundred Years of the Cosmological Constant: from 'Superfluous Stunt' to Dark Energy

We present a centennial review of the history of the term known as the cosmological constant. First introduced to the general theory of relativity by Einstein in 1917 in order to describe a universe that was assumed to be static, the term fell from favour in the wake of the discovery of the expanding universe, only to make a dramatic return in recent times. We consider historical and philosophical aspects of the cosmological constant over four main epochs: (i) the use of the term in static cosmologies (both Newtonian and relativistic); (ii) the marginalization of the term following the discovery of cosmic expansion; (iii) the use of the term to address specific cosmic puzzles such as the timespan of expansion, the formation of galaxies and the redshifts of the quasars; (iv) the re-emergence of the term in today's Lamda-CDM cosmology. We find that the cosmological constant was never truly banished from theoretical models of the universe, but was sidelined by astronomers for reasons of convenience. We also find that the return of the term to the forefront of modern cosmology did not occur as an abrupt paradigm shift due to one particular set of observations, but as the result of a number of empirical advances such as the measurement of present cosmic expansion using the Hubble Space Telescope, the measurement of past expansion using type SN 1a supernovae as standard candles, and the measurement of perturbations in the cosmic microwave background by balloon and satellite. We give a brief overview of contemporary interpretations of the physics underlying the cosmic constant and conclude with a synopsis of the famous cosmological constant problem.Comment: 60 pages, 6 figures. Some corrections, additions and extra references. Accepted for publication the European Physical Journal (H

Einstein's cosmology review of 1933: a new perspective on the Einstein-de Sitter model of the cosmos

We present a first English translation and analysis of a little-known review of relativistic cosmology written by Albert Einstein in late 1932. The article, which was published in 1933 in a book of Einstein papers translated into French, contains a substantial review of static and dynamic relativistic models of the cosmos, culminating in a discussion of the Einstein-de Sitter model. The article offers a valuable contemporaneous insight into Einstein's cosmology in the 1930s and confirms that his interest lay in the development of the simplest model of the cosmos that could account for observation, rather than an exploration of all possible cosmic models. The article also confirms that Einstein did not believe that simplistic relativistic models could give an accurate description of the early universe.Comment: Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal (H). Includes an English translation of a little-known review of cosmology written by Albert Einstein in 1933. 20 pages, 4 figure

Acrylamide formation in potato products

End of Project ReportAcrylamide, a substance classified as a potential carcinogen, occurs in heated starchy foods at concentrations many times in excess of levels permitted in drinking water. Early surveys indicated that levels of acrylamide in potato products such as French fries and potato crisps were the highest of the foodstuffs investigated. The present project addressed this issue by determining levels of acrylamide precursors (asparagine and reducing sugars) in raw potatoes and levels of acrylamide in (i) potato products from different storage regimes, (ii) spot-sampled potatoes purchased from a local supermarket, (iii) samples that received pre-treatments and were fried at different temperatures and (iv) French fries reheated in different ovens.A risk assessment of the estimated acrylamide intake from potato products for various cohorts of the Irish population was also conducted

Historical and philosophical reflections on the Einstein-de Sitter model

We present some historical and philosophical reflections on the paper "On the Relation Between the Expansion and the Mean Density of the Universe", published by Albert Einstein and Willem de Sitter in 1932. In this famous work, Einstein and de Sitter considered a relativistic model of the expanding universe with both the cosmological constant and the curvature of space set to zero. Although the Einstein-deSitter model went on to serve as a standard model in 'big bang' cosmology for many years, we note that the authors do not explicitly consider the evolution of the cosmos in the paper. Indeed, the mathematics of the article are quite puzzling to modern eyes. We consider claims that the paper was neither original nor important; we find that, by providing the first specific analysis of the case of a dynamic cosmology without a cosmological constant or spatial curvature, the authors delivered a unique, simple model with a straightforward relation between cosmic expansion and the mean density of matter that set an important benchmark for both theorists and observers. We consider some philosophical aspects of the model and provide a brief review of its use as a prototype 'big bang' model over much of the 20th century.Comment: Some revisions and corrections to original MS. Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal (H

Three‐periodic nets and tilings: semiregular nets

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115982/1/S0108767303017100.pd

Three‐periodic nets and tilings: regular and quasiregular nets

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115935/1/S0108767302018494.pd

Minimal nets and minimal minimal surfaces

The 3-periodic nets of genus 3 ('minimal nets') are reviewed and their symmetries re-examined. Although they are all crystallographic, seven of the 15 only have maximum-symmetry embeddings if some links are allowed to have zero length. The connection bet

Three‐periodic nets and tilings: minimal nets

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116005/1/S0108767304015442.pd

Secondary building units, nets and bonding in the chemistry of metal–organic frameworks

This critical review presents a comprehensive study of transition-metal carboxylate clusters which may serve as secondary building units (SBUs) towards construction and synthesis of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). We describe the geometries of 131 SBUs, their connectivity and composition. This contribution presents a comprehensive list of the wide variety of transition-metal carboxylate clusters which may serve as secondary building units (SBUs) in the construction and synthesis of metal–organic frameworks. The SBUs discussed here were obtained from a search of molecules and extended structures archived in the Cambridge Structure Database (CSD, version 5.28, January 2007) which included only crystals containing metal carboxylate linkages (241 references)