Related papers: Conformal symmetry and the cosmological constant p…
We advance the viewpoint that only relevant modes of the vacuum fluctuations, namely, with wavelengths conditioned by the size, homogeneity, geometry and topology of the Universe, do contribute into the cosmological constant. A formula is…
We reexamine the cosmological constant problem in a finite temperature setup and propose an intriguing possibility of carrying out perturbative analysis by employing a renormalization scheme in which the renormalized Higgs mass (or resummed…
There are many theories of quantum gravity, depending on asymptotic boundary conditions, and the amount of supersymmetry. The cosmological constant is one of the fundamental parameters that characterize different theories. If it is…
We consider a dynamical approach to the cosmological constant. There is a scalar field with a potential whose minimum occurs at a generic, but negative, value for the vacuum energy, and it has a non-standard kinetic term whose coefficient…
According to general relativity, the present analysis shows on geometrical grounds that the cosmological constant problem is an artifact due to the unfounded link of this fundamental constant to vacuum energy density of quantum…
Coupling any interacting quantum mechanical system to gravity in one (time) dimension requires the cosmological constant to belong to the matter energy spectrum and thus to be quantised, even though the gravity sector is free of any quantum…
Cosmology contributes a good deal to the investigation of variation of fundamental physical constants. High resolution data is available and allows for detailed analysis over cosmological distances and a multitude of methods were developed.…
A central aspect of the cosmological constant problem is to understand why vacuum energy does not gravitate. In order to account for this observation, while allowing for nontrivial dynamics of the quantum vacuum, we motivate a novel…
We consider a conformal model involving two real scalar fields in which the conformal symmetry is broken by a soft mechanism and is not anomalous. One of these scalar fields is representative of the standard model Higgs. The model predicts…
The tests of the constancy of the fundamental constants are tests of the local position invariance and thus of the equivalence principle. We summarize the various constraints that have been obtained and then describe the connection between…
We consider two problems that have vexed physicists for several decades -- dark matter and the cosmological constant. The problem has been that the former has not been detected while the latter gives a far higher value than detected by…
We trace the origin of the cosmological constant problem to the assumption that Newton's constant $G$ sets the scale for cosmology. And then we show that once this assumption is relaxed, the very same cosmic acceleration which has served to…
From higher dimensional theories, e.g. string theory, one expects the presence of non-minimally coupled scalar fields. We review the notion of conformal frames in cosmology and emphasize their physical equivalence, which holds at least at a…
A mechanism is introduced to reduce a large cosmological constant to a sufficiently small value consistent with observational upper limit. The basic ingradient in this mechanism is a distinction which has been made between the two unit…
We consider a model for gravity that is invariant under global scale transformations. It includes one extra real scalar field coupled non-minimally to the gravity fields. In this model all the dimensionful parameters like the gravitational…
Coupling any interacting quantum mechanical system to gravity in one dimension requires the cosmological constant to belong to the matter energy spectrum and thus to be quantized, even though the gravity sector is free of any quantum…
The cosmological constant problem is explained by a theory based on the discrete space-time hypothesis. The calculated cosmological constant value is of the order of 10^-52[m]^-2 or equivalent to about 0.7 of the critical mass density. It…
This paper continues the development of a discrete space-time concept that is recently used in the explanation of the cosmological constant. Instead of order estimation, a more theoretical treatment of the theory is introduced. Based on the…
We discuss implications of the cosmological frame principle which states that cosmological effects of modified gravity must be stable as solutions of each of the corresponding sets of dynamical equations holding in the two…
I try to revive, and possibly reconcile, a debate started a few years ago, about the relative roles of a bare cosmological constant and of a vacuum energy, by taking the attitude to try to get the most from the physics now available as…