Test for the cosmological constant with the number count of faint galaxies

Cosmological models are tested against the recent observations of the number count of faint galaxies by Tyson (1984) and of the redshift distribution of moderately faint galaxies by Broadhurst et al. (1988), particularly with the purpose of examining whether a finite cosmological constant is allowed. Using the canonical galaxy evolution model with the assumption that the comoving number of galaxies is conserved, it is found that these data favor the low-density universe and that the high-density universe is strongly disfavored. Furthermore, it is shown that the best agreement with the data is obtained with a sizable cosmological constant, including the case of zero curvature model as predicted by inflation. 23 refs