Related papers: Wedges, Cones, Cosmic Strings, and the Reality of …
The standard model of elementary particle physics and the theory of general relativity can be extended by the introduction of a vacuum variable which is responsible for the near vanishing of the present cosmological constant (vacuum energy…
In this paper we analyze the vacuum expectation values of the field squared and the energy-momentum tensor associated to a massive scalar field in a higher dimensional cosmic string spacetime, obeying Dirichlet or Neumann boundary…
The construction and analysis of deformations of quantum field theories by warped convolutions is extended to a class of globally hyperbolic spacetimes. First, we show that any four-dimensional spacetime which admits two commuting and…
The electromagnetic field correlators are evaluated around a cosmic string in background of $(D+1)$-dimensional dS spacetime assuming that the field is prepared in the Bunch-Davies vacuum state. The correlators are presented in the…
We propose that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle may come from the infrared sector of the effective theory of gravity, where the impact of the trace anomaly is of upmost relevance. We proceed by introducing two…
In this paper we investigate the vacuum expectation values (VEVs) of the field squared and the energy-momentum tensor associated with a massive scalar quantum field induced by a generalized cosmic string in D-dimensional anti-de Sitter…
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, with QCD fields specifically. We work in the framework of low…
It is shown that a simple model for 4-dimensional quantum gravity based on a 3-dimensional generalization of anyon superconductivity can be regarded as a discrete form of Polyakov's string theory. This suggests that there is a universal…
We present a string theory construction in which the particle physics contributions to the one-loop vacuum energy exactly cancel, whilst the gravitational contributions are suppressed in the size of one or two large extra dimensions. This…
We investigate the Wightman function, the vacuum expectation values of the field squared and the energy-momentum tensor for a massive scalar field with general curvature coupling in the generalized cosmic string geometry with a compact…
According to the `Cosmological Central Dogma', de Sitter space can be viewed as a quantum mechanical system with a finite number of degrees of freedom, set by the horizon area. We use this assumption together with the Wheeler-DeWitt (WDW)…
Connections are uncovered between the averaged weak (AWEC) and averaged null (ANEC) energy conditions, and quantum inequality restrictions on negative energy for free massless scalar fields. In a two-dimensional compactified Minkowski…
We suggest a new perspective on the Cosmological Constant Problem by scrutinizing its standard formulation. In classical and quantum mechanics without gravity, there is no definition of the zero point of energy. Furthermore, the Casimir…
The mystery of the cosmological constant is probably the most pressing obstacle to significantly improving the models of elementary particle physics derived from string theory. The problem arises because in the standard framework of low…
Recently a bound on negative energy densities in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime was derived for a minimally coupled, quantized, massless, scalar field in an arbitrary quantum state. The bound has the form of an uncertainty…
This paper deals with a study of the cylindrically symmetric accretion of dark energy with equation of state $p=w\rho$ onto wiggly straight cosmic strings. We have obtained that when $w>-1$ the linear energy density in the string core…
The $q$-theory approach to the cosmological constant problem is reconsidered. The new observation is that the effective classical $q$-theory gets modified due to the backreaction of quantum-mechanical particle production by spacetime…
A consistency condition of general relativity as an effective field theory in Minkowskian background uniquely fixes the value of the cosmological constant. In two-loop calculations, including the interaction of gravitons with matter fields,…
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…
I briefly summarize a recent research program aiming to probe the landscape of low-energy phases of string theory from a global perspective. Borrowing conceptual lessons from the swampland program, I will discuss how the effective theories…