This might help clarify the role of the EEP by showing its role in my model vs. the role of “self-repulsive” dark energy from the Steinhardt/Turok model.

From another forum that I post in:
A Cyclic Model of the Universe
Paul J. Steinhardt and Neil Turok

“We propose a cosmological model in which the universe undergoes an endless sequence of cosmic epochs each beginning with a ‘bang’ and ending in a ‘crunch.’ The temperature and density are finite at each transition from crunch to bang. Instead of having an inflationary epoch, each cycle includes a period of slow accelerated expansion (as recently observed) followed by slow contraction. The combination produces a homogeneity, flatness, density fluctuations and energy needed to begin the next cycle.”



Steinhardt and Turok have proposed a model that address what happened before the Big Bang and have concluded that there was a crunch. They see the universe as finite and in a continual sequence of crunch bangs, and infinite in time, having no beginning and no end. They confidently feel that the acceleration of expansion (as recently observed) is caused by a repulsive dark energy that was not predicted by the standard model.

Obviously, as you can tell from my OP and posts, I agree with them in part. The universe has always existed, our Big Bang was preceded by a big crunch, and a bang occurs when a crunch reaches sufficient capacity, and the universe is “flat” (in terms of the cosmological principle which defines the universe as either open, closed or flat).

There are two big differences though between the Steinhardt/Turok model and mine. They model a universe finite in content and attribute accelerated expansion to self-repulsive dark energy. (1) I model a universe infinite in content, and (2) I attribute accelerated expansion to vacuum energy.

I contend that vacuum energy requires an infinite universe both spatially and in content, and therefore it cannot be part of a model that sees the universe as finite in content. Since Steinhardt/Turok won’t go with infinite in content, they are stuck with coming up with some “self-repulsive” dark energy that somehow grows up as the universe expands and adds a boost to the expansion to explain the acceleration that has been detected.

Here is how I describe vacuum energy from my recent post in this thread on BAUT with a few small improvements in wording): “Space is permeated with EEPs, the elementary energy wave particle. The EEPs are indivisible entities in and of themselves, but they can interact with each other to form massive objects.

To describe vacuum energy density I will introduce an environment of EEPs that theoretically could exist but in reality will never be found. Let’s refer to a huge patch of space as an arena. The arena that I will use to describe this particular environment of EEPs is the size of space necessary for every EEP in the known universe to be moving independently and freely at the speed of light and disbursed so the density of EEPs per cubic centimeter is in equilibrium with the amount of space in the arena, allowing EEPs to move and interact freely and consistently over the entire arena; evenly distributed throughout the arena in perfect balance with the available space, perfectly homogeneous and isotropic at an infinitesimal level.

EEPs have a natural tendency to interact with each other and to form groupings which combine the mass of the constituent EEPs. As the mass of the various combined EEP groupings increases, more and more EEPs and EEP groupings are attracted, and there are a growing number of patches that have higher EEP density than the surrounding ground state density. This tendency to interact and form growing masses, and for those masses to combine and attract more similar masses eventually results in various great attractors forming throughout the original arena.

These great attractors have a very high density of EEPs while the remainder of the arena has a very low EEP density. The relationship between the density of the growing masses and the density of the rest of the arena continues to diverge. The growing mass will eventually become a big crunch (destined to become a big bang) and will include such a high density of EEPs, that relative to the density of the surrounding arena, the crunch is nearly infinitely dense while the surrounding arena is relatively void.

At this point the surrounding arena is at maximum vacuum energy density (negative pressure) and the crunch is at maximum matter energy density (fully compressed in the crunch).

When the big bang occurs and the EEPs are freed in their highly excited state, the surrounding vacuum energy density is immediately employed to restore the equilibrium state by sucking highly excited and rapidly expanding EEPs back into the arena from which the big crunch was formed.

A crunch that may have taken ten trillion years to form, may expand and refill the arena in only a trillion years.”

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This description, in plain English, describes how my model accounts for inflation and the accelerated expansion that has been detected. When I read Steinhardt/Turok’s description of “self-repulsive” dark energy I had no idea how or why it works or where it came from.

If someone understands the dark energy in their model I would appreciate a brief description in common language that a non-scientist can understand. If my hunch is correct, no one will be able to provide such an explanation because there is no explanation; self-repulsive dark energy does not exist.

Vacuum energy density (the cosmological constant) causes the accelerated expansion that we now observe. The expansion will continue until equilibrium is restored. The content of the known universe will expand on out into the greater universe, and will be incorporated into various future big crunches that are characteristic of the greater universe.