Related papers: Landscaping the Strong CP Problem
The absence of a neutron electric dipole moment (EDM) constrains the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) theta angle to be less than one part in ten billion, posing the Strong $CP$ problem. We revisit two classes of proposed solutions. First, we…
We point out that the long-standing strong CP problem may be resolved by an anthropic argument. The key ideas are: (i) to allow explicit breaking(s) of the Peccei-Quinn symmetry which reduces the strong CP problem to the cosmological…
We study the role of the cosmological constant (CC) as a component of dark energy (DE). It is argued that the cosmological term is in general unavoidable and it should not be ignored even when dynamical DE sources are considered. From the…
The peculiar value of $\theta$ is a challenge to the notion of an anthropic landscape. We briefly review the possibility that a suitable axion might arise from an anthropic requirement of dark matter. We then consider an alternative…
I discuss how anomalies affect classical symmetries and how, in turn, the non-trivial nature of the gauge theory vacuum makes these quantum corrections troublesome. Although no solution seems in sight for the cosmological constant problem,…
Three possible strategies have been advocated to solve the strong CP problem. The first is the axion, a dynamical mechanism that relaxes any initial value of the CP violating angle $\bar{\theta}$ to zero. The second is the imposition of new…
We suggest a solution to the strong CP problem in which there are no axions involved. The superselection rule of the \theta-vacua is dynamically lifted in such a way that an infinite number of vacua are accumulated within the…
A recent paper "What can solve the strong CP problem?" goes counter to conventional wisdom by arguing that the universe was in an initial state that combines different eigenstates of $\theta$ (of the theta vacuum of QCD), and asserts that…
A new perspective on the Cosmological Constant Problem (CCP) is proposed and discussed within the multiverse approach of Quantum Cosmology. It is assumed that each member of the ensemble of universes has a characteristic scale $a$ that can…
After a short history of the $\Lambda$-term it is explained why the (effective) cosmological constant is expected to obtain contributions from short-distance physics, corresponding to an energy at least as large as the Fermi scale. The…
After reviewing the cosmological constant problem - why is Lambda not huge? - I outline the two basic approaches that had emerged by the late 1980s, and note that each made a clear prediction. Precision cosmological experiments now indicate…
The cosmological constant problem is the principal obstacle in the attempt to interpret dark energy as the quantum vacuum energy. We suggest that the obstacle can be removed, i.e. that the cosmological constant problem can be resolved by…
The vacuum of quantum chromodynamics has an incredibly rich structure at the nonperturbative level, which is intimately connected with the topology of gauge fields, and put to a test by the strong CP problem. We investigate the…
I describe how the QCD vacuum structure, necessary to resolve the $U(1)_A$ problem, predicts the presence of a P, T and CP violating term proportional to the vacuum angle $\bar{\theta}$. To agree with experimental bounds, however, this…
A mechanism for suppressing the cosmological constant is developed, based on an analogy with a superconducting phaseshift in which free fermions coupled perturbatively to a weak gravitational field are in an unstable false vacuum state. The…
While $CP$ violation has never been observed in the strong interactions, the QCD Lagrangian admits a $CP$-odd topological interaction proportional to the so called $\theta$ angle, which weighs the contributions to the partition function…
I propose an observationally and theoretically consistent resolution of the cosmological constant problem: $\Lambda$ is a counterterm -- with a running coupling -- that balances the monopole celestial sky average of the kinetic energy of…
On the basis of allowed local gauge symmetries, the QCD Lagrangian admits a CP-violating term proportional to the topological charge density, commonly referred to as the $\theta$ term. A priori, any value of $\theta$ is consistent with the…
One may argue that QCD solves the strong CP problem by itself, without having to introduce new symmetries and particles. To test this idea, a lattice simulation is performed. The problem is investigated in the CP$^3$ model first. It is…
We suggest that the solution to the cosmological vacuum energy puzzle does not require any new field beyond the standard model, but rather can be explained as a result of the interaction of the infrared sector of the effective theory of…