Related papers: Automatic Control over the Cosmological Constant t…
In quantum field theory the parameters of the vacuum action are subject to renormalization group running. In particular, the ``cosmological constant'' is not a constant in a quantum field theory context, still less should be zero. In this…
Recent astrophysical observations seem to indicate that the cosmological constant is small but nonzero and positive. The old cosmological constant problem asks why it is so small; we must now ask, in addition, why it is nonzero (and is in…
We investigate quintessence and phantom dark energy scenarios, in which the scalar fields evolve in nearly flat potentials and are non-minimally coupled to gravity. We show that all such models converge to a common behavior and we provide…
I try to revive, and possibly reconcile, a debate started a few years ago, about the relative roles of a bare cosmological constant and of a vacuum energy, by taking the attitude to try to get the most from the physics now available as…
In the past years 'quintessence' models have been considered which can produce the accelerated expansion in the universe suggested by recent astronomical observations. One of the key differences between quintessence and a cosmological…
Recently, a new framework for describing the multiverse has been proposed which is based on the principles of quantum mechanics. The framework allows for well-defined predictions, both regarding global properties of the universe and…
We present a simple model where the effective cosmological constant appears from chameleon scalar fields. For a Kachru-Kallosh-Linde-Trivedi (KKLT)-inspired form of the potential and a particular chameleon coupling to the local density,…
The phase space analysis of cosmological parameters $\Omega_{\phi}$ and $\gamma_{\phi}$ is given. Based on this, the well-known quintessence cosmology is studied with an exponential potential $V(\phi)=V_{0}\exp(-\lambda\phi)$. Given…
We present a broad and simple class of scalar-tensor scenarios that successfully realize dynamical damping of the effective cosmological constant, therefore providing a viable dynamical solution to the fine-tuning or "old" cosmological…
The Cosmological Constant Problem is re-examined from an effective field theory perspective. While the connection between gravity and particle physics has not been experimentally probed in the quantum regime, it is severely constrained by…
A central aspect of the cosmological constant problem is to understand why vacuum energy does not gravitate. In order to account for this observation, while allowing for nontrivial dynamics of the quantum vacuum, we motivate a novel…
In spontaneously broken supergravity with non-flat potential the vanishing of the cosmological constant is usually associated with a non-trivial balancing of two opposite-sign contributions. We make the simple observation that, in an…
We will look for an implementation of new symmetries in the space-time structure and their cosmological implications. This search will allow us to find a unified vision for electrodynamics and gravitation. We will attempt to develop a…
It is shown that the accelerated expansion of the universe in the framework of the relativistic theory of gravitation can be achieved by the introduction of the quintessential term in the energy-momentum tensor. The value of the minimum…
Although all interactions in the Standard Model generate nonzero shifts of the vacuum energy and pressure, gravity does not interact with them. Assuming (i) that the reason why it is so breaks down at some scale $M_g$ and that (ii) the…
The cosmological constant problem can be understood as the failure of the decoupling principle behind effective field theory, so that some quantities in the low-energy theory are extremely sensitive to the high-energy properties. While this…
We show that the combined minimal and non minimal interaction with the gravitational field may produce the generation of a cosmological constant without self-interaction of the scalar field. In the same vein we analyze the existence of…
Recent data point in the direction of a cosmological constant dominated universe. We investigate the role of supersymmetric QCD with N_f < N_c as a possible candidate for dynamical cosmological constant (``quintessence''). We take in full…
We advance the viewpoint that only relevant modes of the vacuum fluctuations, namely, with wavelengths conditioned by the size, homogeneity, geometry and topology of the Universe, do contribute into the cosmological constant. A formula is…
There is increasing evidence that the universe may have a small cosmological constant. We suggest a scheme for naturally generating a small cosmological constant. Our idea requires the presence of a discrete accidental symmetry which is…