About this episode

Sean Carroll discusses theories of dark energy and the implications of the cosmological constant.

The cosmological constant, as discussed last episode, provides a perfectly good (thus far) explanation for why we observe the universe to be accelerating. But it might not be the right explanation, and demonstrating that would be yet another foundational discovery. In this episode I discuss what is required to invent a plausible theory of dynamical dark energy , This includes considerations from particle physics, possible experimental tests, and the option that we should modify gravity rather than adding a new source of energy to the equations. Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2026/06/29/359-solo-theories-of-dark-energy/ Support Mindscape on Patreon .

People in this episode

Host: Sean Carroll

Topics covered

• dark energy
• cosmological constant
• particle physics
• gravity
• universe acceleration

Keywords

• dark energy
• cosmological constant
• dynamical dark energy
• particle physics
• gravity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mindscape, Patreon, preposterousuniverse.com

Books & works: Theories of Dark Energy, cosmological constant, dynamical dark energy

More episodes of Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

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• 360 | Marc Berman on the Science of Touching Grass · July 6, 2026 · 1h 30m
• 358 | Solo: Vacuum Energy and the Cosmological Constant · June 22, 2026 · 1h 60m
• 357 | Jeff Coller on mRNA, Vaccines, and Bespoke Therapeutics · June 15, 2026 · 1h 20m

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