Abstract. Einstein believed that Mach's principle should play a major role in finding a meaningful spacetime geometry, though it was discovered later that his field equations gave some solutions which were not Machian. It is shown in this paper that the kinematical Λ models, which are invoked to solve the cosmological constant problem, are in fact consistent with Mach's ideas. One particular model in this category is described, which results from the microstructure of spacetime and seems to explain the current observations successfully and also has some benefits over the conventional models. This forces one to think about whether Mach's ideas and the cosmological constant are interrelated in some way.

PACS numbers: 9880, 9880E, 9880H, 0420

Print publication: Issue 18 (21 September 2002)
Received 22 May 2002, in final form 19 July 2002
Published 2 September 2002