On the cosmological constant as a quantum operator.

We regard the cosmological fluid within an exponentially expanding FLRW spacetime as the probability fluid of a nonrelativistic Schroedinger field. The scalar Schroedinger particle so described has a mass equal to the total (baryonic plus dark) matter content of the Universe. This procedure allows a description of the cosmological fluid by means of the operator formalism of nonrelativistic quantum theory. Under the assumption of radial symmetry, a quantum operator proportional to 1 / r 2 represents the cosmological constant Λ. The experimentally measured value of Λ is one of the eigenvalues of 1 / r 2 . Next we solve the Poisson equation ∇ 2 U = Λ for the gravitational potential U (r) , with the cosmological constant Λ (r) = 1 / r 2 playing the role of a source term. It turns out that U (r) includes, besides the standard Newtonian potential 1 / r , a correction term proportional to ln r identical to that appearing in theories of modified Newtonian dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]