Dark energy: Fiction or reality?

Abstract

Is Dark Energy justified as an alternative to the cosmological constant Λ in order to explain the acceleration of the cosmic expansion? It turns out that a straightforward dimensional analysis of Einstein equation provides us with clear evidences that the geometrical nature of Λ is the only viable source to this phenomenon, in addition of the application of Ockham's razor principle. This contribution is primarily a review of the main stream in the interpretation of Λ because it is at the origin of such a research program. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.