Related papers: Wedges, Cones, Cosmic Strings, and the Reality of …
A recent paper (2012 \emph{J. Phys.\ A} \textbf{45} 374018) is extended by investigating the behavior of the regularized quantum scalar stress tensor near the axes of cones and their covering manifold, the Dowker space. A cone is…
In this colloquium-level account, I describe the cosmological constant problem: why is the energy of empty space at least 60 orders of magnitude smaller than several known contributions to it from the Standard Model of particle physics? I…
The cosmological constant (vacuum energy) problem is analyzed within the scope of quantum theories with UV-cut-off or fundamental length. Various cases associated with the appearance of the latter are considered both using the Generalized…
We study a solution of Einstein's equations that describes a straight cosmic string with a variable angular deficit, starting with a $2 \pi$ deficit at the core. We show that the coordinate singularity associated to this defect can be…
Progress on string theory in curved spacetimes since 1992 are reviewed. After a short introduction on strings in Minkowski and curved spacetimes, we focus on strings in cosmological spacetimes. The classical behaviour of strings in FRW and…
Quantum vacuum energy has been known to have observable consequences since 1948 when Casimir calculated the force of attraction between parallel uncharged plates, a phenomenon confirmed experimentally with ever increasing precision. Casimir…
Quantum vacuum energy has been known to have observable consequences since 1948 when Casimir calculated the force of attraction between parallel uncharged plates, a phenomenon confirmed experimentally with ever increasing precision. Casimir…
The problem of dark energy arises due to its self-gravitating properties. Therefore explaining vacuum energy may become a question for the realm of quantum gravity, that can be addressed within string theory context. In this talk I…
This talk summarizes a new understanding of the cosmological constant problem, which essentially relies on a phase-space-like computation of the vacuum energy, both in the realm of quantum field theory coupled to gravity, and in the realm…
We present a novel source of dark energy, which is motivated by the prevalence of hidden sectors in string theory models and is consistent with all of the proposed swampland conjectures. Thermal effects hold a light hidden sector scalar at…
We investigate scaling and correlations of the energy and momentum in an evolving network of cosmic strings in Minkowski space. These quantities are of great interest, as they must be understood before accurate predictions for the power…
We review various aspects of de Sitter spacetime in string theory: its status as an effective field theory spacetime solution, its relation to the vacuum energy problem in string theory, its (global) holographic definition in terms of two…
We generalize a result of Vollick constraining the possible behaviors of the renormalized expected stress-energy tensor of a free massless scalar field in two dimensional spacetimes that are globally conformal to Minkowski spacetime.…
By generalizing the formalism proposed by Dalibard, Dupont-Roc and Cohen Tannoudji, we study the resonance interatomic energy of two identical atoms coupled to quantum massless scalar fields in a symmetric /antisymmetric entangled state in…
The discovery of accelerated cosmic expansion implies that, in addition to the attractive gravity of matter, there exists in our universe some other form of energy (dark energy or cosmological constant) producing a repulsive force. The…
Realizing dark energy and the observed de Sitter spacetime in quantum gravity has proven to be obstructed in most every usual approach. We argue that additional degrees of freedom of the left- and right-movers in string theory and a…
A long-standing problem of theoretical physics is the exceptionally small value of the cosmological constant $\Lambda \sim 10^{-120}$ measured in natural Planckian units. Here we derive this tiny number from a toroidal string cosmology…
We show that if a cosmic string exists, it may be identified through characteristic diffraction pattern in the energy spectrum of the observed signal. In particular, if the string is on the line of sight, the wave field is shown to fit the…
We suggest that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle is linked to the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity interacting with standard model fields. We propose a specific solvable two dimensional model where our…
The relevant characteristic features, including energy per unit length and tension, of a cosmic string carrying massless fermionic currents in the framework of the Witten model in the neutral limit are derived through quantization of the…