The Cosmological Constant as a Particle Detector
Mass-independent BSM constraints from entanglement entropy
Tests 20 BSM models against the observed dark energy. Predicts dark matter is not a standard quantum field, favours Majorana neutrinos, and excludes all supersymmetric extensions.
Mar 2, 2026 · Preprint
Plain English
This paper treats the cosmological constant as a particle detector that can see every particle in nature regardless of its mass — and uses it to test 20 theories of new physics.
The problem
The Large Hadron Collider can only find particles lighter than about 7 TeV. But new physics could be hiding at any energy scale up to 10^19 GeV. We need a detector that can see everything, regardless of mass.
The key idea
The entanglement entropy that produces dark energy depends on the total number of particle species in nature — and it does not care how heavy they are. A particle at the Planck scale shifts the cosmological constant by the same amount as one at the LHC scale. This makes dark energy a mass-independent particle counter.
What the paper does
It tests 20 proposed extensions of the Standard Model — supersymmetry, dark photons, extra dimensions, sterile neutrinos, and more. Result: 16 out of 20 are already excluded at 2σ or better. The budget is brutal: zero extra gauge bosons allowed, at most one extra fermion, at most one extra scalar.
Why it matters
If correct, dark matter is not a particle — it must be something gravitational like primordial black holes. Neutrinos must be Majorana (testable in labs). And supersymmetry is dead at any energy scale, not just below the LHC reach. By 2030, improved measurements could exclude all 20 models.
What could go wrong
Everything in this paper is conditional on the entanglement framework being correct. If the DESI experiment confirms w ≠ −1 at >5σ, the entire framework is falsified and all constraints become void. The paper is honest about this throughout.