Related papers: A Note on Boltzmann Brains
We use a field theoretic generalization of the Wigner-Weisskopf method to study the stability of the Bunch-Davies vacuum state for a massless, conformally coupled interacting test field in de Sitter space. We find that in $\lambda \phi^4$…
It is generally accepted that the entropy of an asymptotically de Sitter universe is bounded by the area, in Planck units, of the de Sitter horizon. Based on an analysis of the entropy associated to the vacuum quantum fluctuations, we…
A special relativity based on the de Sitter group is introduced, which is the theory that might hold up in the presence of a non-vanishing cosmological constant. Like ordinary special relativity, it retains the quotient character of…
The dynamics of a system composed of elastic hard particles confined by an isotropic harmonic potential are studied. In the low-density limit, the Boltzmann equation provides an excellent description, and the system does not reach…
We study particle decay in de Sitter space-time as given by first order perturbation theory in an interacting quantum field theory. We show that for fields with masses above a critical mass $m_c$ there is no such thing as particle…
If conscious observers are to be included in the quantum mechanical universe, we need to find the rules that engage observers with quantum mechanical systems. The author has proposed five rules that are discovered by insisting on empirical…
It is challenging to construct explicit and controllable models that realize de Sitter solutions in string compactifications. This difficulty is the main motivation for the Refined de Sitter Conjecture and the Trans-Planckian Censorship…
We investigate the recent suggestion that a Minkowski vacuum is either absolutely stable, or it has a divergent decay rate and thus fails to have a locally Minkowski description. The divergence comes from boost integration over momenta of…
A semi-classical analysis of vacuum energy in the expanding spacetime suggests that the cosmological term decays with time, with a concomitant matter production. For early times we find, in Planck units, $\Lambda \approx H^4$, where H is…
Recent observations of the luminosity-red shift relation of distant type Ia supernovae established the fact that the expansion of the universe is accelerated. This is interpreted by saying that there exists some kind of agent (called dark…
Decaying vacuum models are a class of models that incorporate the vacuum energy density as a time-evolving entity that has the potential to explain the entire evolutionary history of the universe in a single framework. A general solution to…
We consider Horndeski cosmological models able to screen the vacuum energy coming from any field theory assuming that after this screening the space should be in a de Sitter vacuum with a particular value of the cosmological constant…
Cosmological acceleration is difficult to accommodate in theories of fundamental interactions involving supergravity and superstrings. An alternative is that the acceleration is not universal but happens in a large localized region, which…
To resolve infrared problems with the de~Sitter invariant vacuum, we argue that the history of the de~Sitter phase is crucial. We illustrate how either (1)~the diagonalization of the Hamiltonian for long-wavelength modes or (2)~an explicit…
Backreactions are considered in a de Sitter spacetime whose cosmological constant is generated by the potential of scalar field. The leading order gravitational effect of nonlinear matter fluctuations is analyzed and it is found that the…
Sean Carroll has recently argued that theories predicting that observations are dominated by Boltzmann Brains should be rejected because they are cognitively unstable: "they cannot simultaneously be true and justifiably believed." While…
The Hilbert space structure of classical field theory is proposed as a general theoretical framework to model human cognitive processes which do not often follow classical (Bayesian) probability principles. This leads to an extension of the…
Consistency of the unconventional view of de Sitter space as a quantum theory of gravity with a finite number of degrees of freedom requires that Coleman-De Luccia tunneling rates to vacua with negative cosmological constant should be…
This is a summary of two lectures I gave at the Davis Conference on Cosmic Inflation. I explain why the quantum theory of de Sitter (dS) space should have a finite number of states and explore gross aspects of the hypothetical quantum…
The problem of the flat limits of the scalar and spinor fields on the de Sitter expanding universe is considered in the rest frame vacuum where the frequencies are separated in rest frames as in special relativity. The phases of the…