Lucas Lombriser (born 12 April 1982) is a
Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at the Department of Theoretical Physics,
University of Geneva .
[1] His research is in
Theoretical Cosmology ,
Dark Energy , and
Alternative Theories of Gravity . In 2020
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9] and 2021
[10]
[11]
[12] Lombriser proposed that the
Hubble tension and other discrepancies between cosmological measurements imply significant evidence that we are living in a
Hubble Bubble of 250 million light years in diameter which is 20% less dense than the cosmic average and lowers the locally measured
cosmic microwave background temperature over its cosmic average. Previously, in 2019, he has proposed a solution to the
cosmological constant problem from arguing that
Newton's constant varies globally.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19] In 2015 and 2016, Lombriser predicted the measurement of the
gravitational wave speed with a
neutron star merger and that this would rule out
alternative theories of gravity as the cause of the
late-time accelerated expansion of our Universe ,
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24] a prediction that proved true with
GW170817 . Lombriser is a member of the
Romansh-speaking minority in
Switzerland .
Education and career
Lombriser did a Master in Physics at
ETH Zurich in 2008 and completed his PhD at the Institute for Theoretical Physics,
University of Zurich in 2011.
[1] His thesis advisor was
Uroš Seljak .
[25] Lombriser did postdoctoral research at the
Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth and the Institute of Astronomy,
Royal Observatory Edinburgh ,
University of Edinburgh . He joined the Department of Theoretical Physics,
University of Geneva in January 2018 on a
Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship.
He is an Affiliate Member of the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics,
University of Edinburgh .
[26]
Research
Lombriser's research is in
Theoretical Cosmology ,
Dark Energy , and
Alternative Theories of Gravity . In 2010 he was part of a research group that succeeded in making the first measurement of the
E
G
{\displaystyle E_{G}}
quantity, a model-independent estimator for gravitational interactions at cosmological distances.
[27]
[28] In 2015 and 2016, Lombriser predicted the measurement of the
gravitational wave speed with a
neutron star merger and that this would rule out
alternative theories of gravity as the cause of the
late-time accelerated expansion of our Universe .
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24] This prediction and its implications became reality with
GW170817 . In 2019, he proposed the additional global variation of the
General Relativistic
Einstein-Hilbert action with respect to
Newton's constant .
[13]
[16]
[14]
[15]
[17]
[18] This leads to a constraint equation upon
Einstein's field equations which, after evaluation over the
observable Universe , provides a solution to the decades-old
cosmological constant problem . In March 2020 Lombriser proposed that the much-debated
Hubble tension implies significant evidence that we are living in a
Hubble Bubble that is 250 million light years in diameter and is 20% less dense than the cosmic average.
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7] In April 2021 his team showed that this results in a higher
cosmic microwave background temperature than measured locally, which eases further cosmological tensions.
[10]
[11]
[12]
Lombriser is involved in the
Euclid space telescope mission of the
European Space Agency (ESA) and the Euclid Consortium. He is also involved in the ESA
Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA)
gravitational wave observatory.
[29] He is the PI of the Deep Thought Project.
[30]
In June 2023, Lombriser reported an alternative way of interpreting the available scientific data which suggested that the notion of an
expanding universe may be more a "mirage" than an actuality.
[31]
[32]
Media
Lombriser has given several interviews on his research work and life in the Swiss
Romansh-speaking media, including
TV ,
[33]
radio ,
[34] and newspaper articles.
[35]
[36]
[37] He has also spoken on
BBC Radio Scotland .
[38] His research works from 2010,
[27]
[28] 2016,
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24] 2019,
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18] 2020,
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7] and 2021
[10]
[11]
[12] have received broad attention by news outlets worldwide.
References
^
a
b
"Lucas Lombriser | Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics - University of Geneva" . cosmology.unige.ch .
^
a
b
c Lombriser, Lucas (2020).
"Consistency of the local Hubble constant with the cosmic microwave background" . Physics Letters B . 803 : 135303.
arXiv :
1906.12347 .
Bibcode :
2020PhLB..80335303L .
doi :
10.1016/j.physletb.2020.135303 .
S2CID
195750638 .
^
a
b
c
"Solved: The mystery of the expansion of the universe" . phys.org .
^
a
b
c swissinfo.ch, S. W. I.; Corporation, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting.
"Womöglich leben wir in einer "Hubble-Bubble" " . SWI swissinfo.ch .
^
a
b
c Ferreira, Becky (March 11, 2020).
"We Actually Live Inside a Huge Bubble in Space, Physicist Proposes" .
^
a
b
c
"¿Resuelto el misterio de la velocidad de expansión del Universo?" . abc . March 12, 2020.
^
a
b
c red, science ORF at/Agenturen (March 11, 2020).
"Leben wir in einer "Hubble-Bubble"?" . science.ORF.at .
^
"Is our galaxy in a cosmic 'bubble?' " . RT America youtube .
^
"Best of Last Year: The top Phys.org articles of 2020" . phys.org .
^
a
b
c
"L'univers serait plus chaud qu'on croyait" . Le Matin . 25 May 2021.
^
a
b
c
"Expansion des Universums: "Simple Theorie" löst Diskrepanz bei Hubble-Konstante" . heise.de .
^
a
b
c
"L'Univers serait plus chaud que prévu" . sciencesetavenir.fr . June 2021.
^
a
b
c Lombriser, Lucas (2019).
"On the cosmological constant problem" . Physics Letters B . 797 : 134804.
arXiv :
1901.08588 .
Bibcode :
2019PhLB..79734804L .
doi :
10.1016/j.physletb.2019.134804 .
S2CID
119274583 .
^
a
b
c
"Providing a solution to the worst-ever prediction in physics" . phys.org .
^
a
b
c Lea, Robert (September 10, 2019).
"Tackling Cosmological Constant Problem with a new approach" . Medium .
^
a
b
c Childers, Tim (6 September 2019).
" 'Einstein's Biggest Blunder' May Have Finally Been Fixed" . livescience.com .
^
a
b
c
"Una solución para la peor predicción de la historia de la Física" . abc . September 1, 2019.
^
a
b
c
"El error más grave de Einstein puede que haya sido al fin resuelto" . El Confidencial . September 11, 2019.
^
"A new generation takes on the cosmological constant problem" . Physics World . 3 March 2021.
^
a
b
c Lombriser, Lucas; Taylor, Andy (2016).
"Breaking a dark degeneracy with gravitational waves" . Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics . 2016 (3): 031.
arXiv :
1509.08458 .
Bibcode :
2016JCAP...03..031L .
doi :
10.1088/1475-7516/2016/03/031 .
S2CID
73517974 .
^
a
b
c Lombriser, Lucas; Lima, Lima (2017).
"Challenges to self-acceleration in modified gravity from gravitational waves and large-scale structure" . Physics Letters B . 765 : 382–385.
arXiv :
1602.07670 .
Bibcode :
2017PhLB..765..382L .
doi :
10.1016/j.physletb.2016.12.048 .
S2CID
118486016 .
^
a
b
c
"Challenges to Cosmic Self Acceleration in Modified Gravity from Gravitational Waves and Large-Scale Structure" .
YouTube .
IPhT-TV . 26 September 2017.
^
a
b
c Rzetelny, Xaq (February 25, 2017).
"Theoretical battle: dark energy vs. modified gravity" . Ars Technica .
^
a
b
c
"Quest to settle riddle over Einstein's theory may soon be over" . phys.org .
^
"Lucas Lombriser - The Mathematics Genealogy Project" . www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu .
^
"Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics" . higgs.ph.ed.ac.uk .
^
a
b Reyes, Reinabelle; Mandelbaum, Rachel; Seljak, Uroš; Baldauf, Tobias; Gunn, James; Lombriser, Lucas; Smith, Robert (2010).
"Confirmation of general relativity on large scales from weak lensing and galaxy velocities" . Nature . 464 (7286): 256–258.
arXiv :
1003.2185 .
Bibcode :
2010Natur.464..256R .
doi :
10.1038/nature08857 .
PMID
20220843 .
S2CID
205219902 .
^
a
b
"Ein weiterer Triumph für Einstein | NZZ" . Neue Zürcher Zeitung .
^
"lombriser | Lisamission.org" . www.elisascience.org .
^
"The DeepThought β Collaboration" . deepthought-beta.net .
^ Lea, Robert (20 June 2023).
"The expansion of the universe could be a mirage, new theoretical study suggests - New research looking at the cosmological constant problem suggests the expansion of the universe could be an illusion" .
Live Science .
Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023 .
^
Lombriser, Lucas (2 June 2023).
"Cosmology in Minkowski space" .
Classical and Quantum Gravity .
arXiv :
2306.16868 .
doi :
10.1088/1361-6382/acdb41 .
Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023 .
^
"Lucas Lombriser cumprova teoria da Einstein - TV" . Play RTR .
^
"Bunura: Lucas Lombriser e la cosmologia - Radio" . Play RTR .
^
"In skywalker da la scienza perscrutescha undas da gravitaziun, La Quotidiana, 2 October 2017" (PDF) .
^ Astrofisicher Lucas Lombriser, La Quotidiana, 4 June 2018
^
"Cosmologia - In sguard en la vita da l'astrofisicher Lucas Lombriser" . Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha (RTR) . December 10, 2019.
^
"BBC Radio Scotland - Newsdrive - Available now" . BBC .
International National Academics