Related papers: The Cosmological Constant and the Electroweak Scal…
In cosmology, the cosmic curvature $K$ and the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ are two important parameters, and the values have strong influence on the behavior of the universe. In the context of normal cosmology, under the ordinary…
The fundamental constants of electromagnetism, gravity and quantum mechanics can be related empirically by the numerical approximation $\ln(V_e/V_P)\approx \alpha^{-1}$, where $\alpha$ is the low energy value of the electromagnetic fine…
In the framework of a Varying Speed of Light theory, we study the eigenvalues associated with the Wheeler-DeWitt equation representing the vacuum expectation values associated with the cosmological constant. We find that the Wheeler-DeWitt…
We argue that, when coupled to Einstein's theory of gravity, the Yukawa theory may solve the cosmological constant problem in the following sense: The radiative corrections of fermions generate an effective potential for the scalar field,…
In this colloquium-level account, I describe the cosmological constant problem: why is the energy of empty space at least 60 orders of magnitude smaller than several known contributions to it from the Standard Model of particle physics? I…
It is shown in Einstein gravity that the cosmological constant Lambda introduces a graviton mass m into the theory, a result that will be derived from the Regge-Wheeler-Zerilli problem for a particle falling onto a Kottler-Schwarzschild…
We consider scale invariant models where the classical scale invariance is broken perturbatively by radiative corrections at the electroweak scale. These models offer an elegant and simple solution to the hierarchy problem. If we further…
In theories in which the cosmological constant Lambda takes a variety of values in different ``subuniverses,'' the probability distribution of its observed values is conditioned by the requirement that there must be someone to measure it.…
Recent cosmological observations suggest the existence of a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$ with the magnitude $\Lambda(G\hbar/c^3) \approx 10^{-123}$. This review discusses several aspects of the cosmological constant both from…
It is possible that the scale of gravity, parameterized by the apparent Planck mass, may obtain different values within different universes in an encompassing multiverse. We investigate the range over which the Planck mass may scan while…
We show that the classical cosmological constant in type II flux compactifications can be written as a sum of terms from the action of localized sources plus a specific contribution from non-trivial background fluxes. Exploiting two global…
We show that stable local cosmic strings are a generic prediction of supersymmetric models where supersymmetry is broken at scales within a few orders of magnitude of the weak scale and is fed down to the observable sector by gauge…
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…
It is shown that the minimal left-right symmetric model admits cosmic string and domain wall solutions. The cosmic strings arise when the SU(2)_R is broken and can either be destabilized at the electroweak scale or remain stable through the…
We present technical results which extend previous work and show that the cosmological constant of general relativity is an artefact of the reduction to 4D of 5D Kaluza-Klein theory (or 10D superstrings and 11D supergravity). We argue that…
In string theory the coupling ``constants'' appearing in the low-energy effective Lagrangian are determined by the vacuum expectation values of some (a priori) massless scalar fields (dilaton, moduli). This naturally leads one to expect a…
A value of the cosmological constant in a toy model of the five-dimensional universe is calculated in such a manner that it remains in agreement with both astronomical observations and the quantum field theory concerning the zero-point…
We propose a framework in which Weinberg's anthropic explanation of the cosmological constant problem also solves the hierarchy problem. The weak scale is selected by chiral dynamics that controls the stabilization of an extra dimension.…
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…
A particle spectrum below the string scale in accordance with predictions from heterotic string theory yields a Planck mass $m_{Pl}=(8\pi G_N)^{-1/2}$ which exceeds the string scale by a factor $\simeq 61.9$. A Planck mass…