http://arxiv.org/abs/1804.06768
It is well known that in the early 1930s, Einstein banished the cosmological constant term from his cosmology. He is reputed to have later described the term as his “biggest blunder”, a statement that became one the great legends of 20th century physics. However, many doubts about the statement have been raised in recent years, not least because almost all references to it can be traced back to a single source, the maverick physicist George Gamow. In this paper, we interrogate the legend of Einstein’s “biggest blunder” statement in the context of our recent studies of Einstein’s cosmology in his later years. We find that the remark is very compatible with Einstein’s cosmic models of the 1930s, with his later writings on cosmology, and with independent reports by two other physicists. We also find it quite plausible that Einstein made such a statement to Gamow in particular. We conclude that there is little doubt that Einstein came to view the introduction of the cosmological constant a serious error, and that it is very plausible that he labelled the term his “biggest blunder” on at least one occasion.
C. O’Raifeartaigh and S. Mitton
Thu, 19 Apr 18
13/47
Comments: 26 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to the European Physical Journal (H)
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