# What does the Friedmann Equation imply for the cosmological constant?

The Friedmann equation is given by $$(\frac{\dot{a}}{a})^2 = \frac{8 \pi G \rho}{3} - \frac{kc^2}{a^2} + \frac{\lambda c^2}{3}.$$ Considering that the left hand side is analagous to the kinetic energy of expansion, and the term $\frac{8 \pi G \rho}{3}$ analagous to the G.P.E which resists expansion, does this imply that the cosmological constant represents an entity which opposes expansion?

Clearly this is not the case. Yet if it were not known that dark energy exerts a negative pressure, and thus represents a kind of 'anti-gravity', does the Friedmann equation not imply that the cosmological constant opposes expansion?

This whole equation, as you'll note, provides the basic rate of expansion. It's true that the $\frac{8\pi G\rho}{3}$ term decelerates expansion, however this is mostly because both $\rho$ and $\frac{1}{a^2}$ fall off as $a$ increases. Even with $\lambda$ positive and small, it remains constant, which means that as $\rho$ and $\frac{1}{a^2}$ drop to zero, the fraction $\frac{\dot a}{a}$ approaches a constant, which means the expansion becomes accelerated.