Revised Concepts for Cosmic Vacuum Energy and Binding Energy: Innovative Cosmology

Abstract

Contemporary cosmology confronted with WMAP observations of the cosmic microwave background radiation and with distant supernova locations in the magnitude redshift diagram obviously has to call for cosmic vacuum energy as a necessary prerequisite. Most often this vacuum energy is associated with the cosmological constant Λ, introduced by Einstein and presently experiencing a fantastic revival in form of ”dark energy”. Within the framework of General Relavity the term connected with Λ acts analogous to constant vacuum energy density. With a positive value, Λ describes an inflationary action on cosmic dynamics which in view of more recent cosmological data to most astronomers appears to be absolutely needed. In this article, however, we shall question this hypothesis of a constant vacuum energy density showing that it is not justifyable on physical grounds, because it claims for a physical reality that acts upon spacetime and matter dynamics without itself being acted upon by spacetime or matter. In the past cosmic mass generation mechanisms have been formulated at different places in the literature and based on different physical concepts. A deeper study proves that these alternative theoretical forms of mass creation in the expanding universe all lead to terms in the GR field equations which can be shown to act analogously to terms arising from vacuum energy. In addition we also demonstrate that gravitational cosmic binding energy connected with structure formation acts identically to negative cosmic mass energy density, i.e. reducing the action of proper mass density. This again resembles an action of cosmic vacuum energy. Hence one is encouraged to believe that actions of cosmic vacuum energy, gravitational binding energy and mass creation are closely related to eachother, perhaps are even in some respect identical phenomena. Based on results presented in this article we propose that the action of vacuum energy on cosmic spacetime dynamics inevitably leads to a decay of vacuum energy density. Connected with this decay is a decrease of cosmic binding energy and the appearance of new gravitating mass in the universe, identifyable with creation of newly appearing effective mass in the expanding universe. If this all is adequately taken into account by the energy-momentum tensor of the GR field equations, one is then led to non-standard cosmologies which for the first time can guarantee the conservation of the total energy both in static and expanding universes. 5