Model of dark matter and dark energy based on gravitational polarization

Luc Blanchet and Alexandre Le Tiec
Phys. Rev. D 78, 024031 – Published 18 July 2008

Abstract

A model of dark matter and dark energy based on the concept of gravitational polarization is investigated. We propose an action in standard general relativity for describing, at some effective or phenomenological level, the dynamics of a dipolar medium, i.e. one endowed with a dipole moment vector, and polarizable in a gravitational field. Using first-order cosmological perturbations, we show that the dipolar fluid is undistinguishable from standard dark energy (a cosmological constant Λ) plus standard dark matter (a pressureless perfect fluid), and therefore benefits from the successes of the Λ–cold-dark-matter scenario at cosmological scales. Invoking an argument of “weak clusterization” of the mass distribution of dipole moments, we find that the dipolar dark matter reproduces the phenomenology of the modified Newtonian dynamics at galactic scales. The dipolar medium action naturally contains a cosmological constant, and we show that if the model is to come from some fundamental underlying physics, the cosmological constant Λ should be of the order of a02/c4, where a0 denotes the modified Newtonian dynamics constant acceleration scale, in good agreement with observations.

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  • Received 22 April 2008

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.78.024031

©2008 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Luc Blanchet* and Alexandre Le Tiec

  • 𝒢ℛεℂ𝕆, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris—UMR 7095 du CNRS, Université Pierre & Marie Curie, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France

  • *blanchet@iap.fr
  • letiec@iap.fr

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Issue

Vol. 78, Iss. 2 — 15 July 2008

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