Concept record · Atlas v1.2.0
de Sitter spacetime
Established resultWhat the term means here
The maximally symmetric solution of Einstein gravity with positive cosmological constant: an exponentially expanding, accelerating spacetime with a cosmological horizon.
Why it matters to this question
The observed universe is accelerating, and the standard model of cosmology describes that acceleration with a small positive cosmological constant. So a candidate theory of quantum gravity is expected to accommodate something close to de Sitter, or to explain why not.
What this does not establish
That de Sitter space is a well-defined solution of classical general relativity establishes nothing about whether string theory admits a stable or metastable de Sitter vacuum. That question is open, and the source map takes no side on it.
Claims bearing on this concept · 6
- ds-001
The observed late-time acceleration of the universe is standardly modeled with a small positive cosmological constant, and current data place the dark-energy equation of state near w = −1.
- ds-002
Whether string/M-theory admits stable or metastable de Sitter vacua remains an open question, and there is no community consensus.
- ds-004
Whether the KKLT anti-brane uplift is under parametric ten-dimensional supergravity control is actively debated.
- ds-007
The de Sitter swampland conjecture proposes that scalar potentials in consistent quantum-gravity effective theories obey a gradient bound |∇V| ≥ c·V, with c of order one.
- ds-009
The Trans-Planckian Censorship Conjecture proposes that sub-Planckian fluctuations never cross the Hubble horizon and freeze, which bounds the lifetime of a de Sitter phase.
- ds-010
If metastable de Sitter vacua are excluded, dark energy would have to be dynamical — a rolling scalar field rather than a constant.
Sources used for this record · 3
- The original de Sitter swampland conjecturearXiv:1806.08362
- Cosmological implications of the swampland conjecturesarXiv:1806.09718
- The Trans-Planckian Censorship ConjecturearXiv:1909.11063