In cosmology, the cosmological constant (usually denoted by the Greek capital letter lambda: Λ) is the value of the energy density of the vacuum of space. It was originally introduced by Albert Einstein in 1917 as an addition to his theory of general relativity to `hold back gravity` and achieve a static universe, which was the accepted view at.....
(from the article `Cosmos`) ...relativity—as originally written down—had no meaningful solutions. To obtain a solution, Einstein realized that he had to add to his equations an ...
A parameter introduced in 1917 by Einstein into the description of the universe in terms of the general theory of relativity, in order to ensure static (i.e. not expanding or contracting) cosmological models. At that time, the expansion of the universe was still unknown. Einstein later described the...
[n] - an arbitrary constant in the equations of general relativity theory
noun an arbitrary constant in the equations of general relativity theory
a term introduced by Einstein into his field equations of general relativity to permit a stationary, nonexpanding universe: it has since been abandoned in most models of the universe. Cf. Einstein model.