Related papers: Relaxation of vacuum energy in q-theory
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…
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 study a new symmetry argument that results in a vacuum state with strictly vanishing vacuum energy. This argument exploits the well-known feature that de Sitter and Anti- de Sitter space are related by analytic…
We exhibit a mechanism which dynamically adjusts cosmological constant toward $0^+$. The adjustment is quantum-mechanical, discharging cosmological constant in random discrete steps. It renders de Sitter space unstable, and triggers its…
Zero point fluctuations of quantum fields should generate a large cosmological constant energy density in any spacetime. How then can we have anything other than de Sitter space without fine tuning? Well tempering -- dynamical cancellation…
A modified-gravity theory is considered with a four-form field strength F, a variable gravitational coupling parameter G(F), and a standard matter action. This theory provides a concrete realization of the general vacuum variable q as the…
By regarding the vacuum as a perfect fluid with equation of state p=-rho, de Sitter's cosmological model is quantized. Our treatment differs from previous ones in that it endows the vacuum with dynamical degrees of freedom. Instead of being…
We construct a model for the universe based on the existence of quantum fields at finite temperature in the background of Robertson-Walker spacetime in presence of a non-zero cosmological constant. We discuss the vacuum regime in the light…
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…
The general thermodynamic analysis of the quantum vacuum, which is based on our knowledge of the vacua in condensed-matter systems, is consistent with the Einstein earlier view on the cosmological constant. In the equilibrium Universes the…
The problem of the physical nature and the cosmological genesis of Lambda-term is discussed. This problem can't be solved in terms of the current quantum field theory which operates with Higgs and non-perturbative vacuum condensates and…
The near-zero value of the cosmological constant \Lambda in an equilibrium context may be due to the existence of a self-tuning relativistic vacuum variable q. Here, a cosmological nonequilibrium context is considered with a corresponding…
The behavior of the gravitating vacuum energy density in an expanding universe is discussed. A scenario is presented with a step-wise relaxation of the vacuum energy density. The vacuum energy density moves from plateau to plateau and…
One possible solution of the cosmological constant problem involves a so-called $q$-field, which self-adjusts so as to give a vanishing gravitating vacuum energy density (cosmological constant) in equilibrium. We show that this $q$-field…
In this paper we focus on the gravitational thermodynamics of the far future. Cosmological observations suggest that most matter will be diluted away by the cosmological expansion, with the rest collapsing into supermassive black holes. The…
The hypothesis is proposed that under the approximation that the quantum equations of motion reduce to the classical ones, the quantum vacuum also reduces to the classical vacuum--the empty space. The vacuum energy of QED is studied under…
In hep-th/0506040 we discussed a classically constrained model of gravity. This theory contains known solutions of General Relativity (GR), and admits solutions that are absent in GR. Here we study cosmological implications of some of these…
Possible analogies between vacuum state and quantum fluid provide a model to study vacuum energy density induced by thermal corrections, space-time curvature, boundary conditions and quantum back-reaction. We find that vacuum energy density…
KKLT give a mechanism to generate de Sitter vacua in string theory. And recently, the scenario, {\em landscape}, is suggested to explain the problem of the cosmological constant. In this scenario, the cosmological constant is a de Sitter…
In contrast to the phenomenon of nullification of the cosmological constant in the equilibrium vacuum, which is the general property of any quantum vacuum, there are many options in modifying the Einstein equation to allow the cosmological…