Related papers: Cosmological constant as a fundamental constant
The cosmological constant, i.e., the energy density stored in the true vacuum state of all existing fields in the Universe, is the simplest and the most natural possibility to describe the current cosmic acceleration. However, despite its…
This is a review of the physics and cosmology of the cosmological constant. Focusing on recent developments, I present a pedagogical overview of cosmology in the presence of a cosmological constant, observational constraints on its…
We build a minimal extension of General Relativity in which Newton's gravitational coupling, $G$, the speed of light, $c$, and the cosmological constant, $\Lambda$, are spacetime variables. This is done while satisfying the contracted…
In this year, in which we celebrate 100 years of the cosmological term, $\Lambda$, in Einstein's gravitational field equations, we are still facing the crucial question whether $\Lambda$ is truly a fundamental constant or a mildly evolving…
The cosmological constant problem is examined under the assumption that the extrinsic curvature of the space-time contributes to the vacuum. A compensation mechanism based on a variable cosmological term is proposed. Under a suitable…
The laws of physics have a set of fundamental constants, and it is generally admitted that only dimensionless combinations of constants have physical significance. These combinations include the electromagnetic and gravitational fine…
In this thesis the cosmological constant is investigated from two points of view. First, we study the influence of a time-dependent cosmological constant on the late-time expansion of the universe. Thereby, we consider several combinations…
The principles of General Relativity allow for a non-vanishing cosmological constant, which can possibly be interpreted at least partially in terms of quantum-fluctuations of matter fields. Depending on sign and magnitude it can cause…
In quantum field theory the parameters of the vacuum action are subject to renormalization group running. In particular, the ``cosmological constant'' is not a constant in a quantum field theory context, still less should be zero. In this…
The observed value of the cosmological constant corresponds to a time scale that is very close to the current conformal age of the universe. Here we show that this is not a coincidence but is caused by a periodic boundary condition, which…
We consider general relativity with a cosmological constant as a perturbative expansion around a completely solvable diffeomorphism invariant field theory. This theory is the $\Lambda\to\infty$ limit of general relativity. This allows an…
In this paper a new theory of Dark Matter is proposed. Experimental analysis of several Galaxies show how the non-gravitational contribution to galactic Velocity Rotation Curves can be interpreted as that due to the Cosmological Constant…
The cosmological constant sets certain scales important in cosmology. We show that Lambda in conjunction with other parameters like the Schwarzschild radius leads to scales relevant not only for cosmological but also for astrophysical…
Following fresh attempts to resolve the problem of the energy density of the vacuum, we reconsider the case where the cosmological constant is derived from a higher-dimensional version of general relativity, and interpret the…
A new approach to the cosmological constant problem is proposed by modifying Einstein's theory of general relativity, using instead a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation. This theory of gravity crucially incorporates the concept of quantum…
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…
Recent astrophysical observations seem to indicate that the cosmological constant is small but nonzero and positive. The old cosmological constant problem asks why it is so small; we must now ask, in addition, why it is nonzero (and is in…
We have critically compared different approaches to the cosmological constant problem, which is at the edge of elementary particle physics and cosmology. This problem is deeply connected with the difficulties formulating a theory of quantum…
In a recent paper (Vigoureux et al. Int. J. Theor. Phys. 47:928, 2007) it has been suggested that the velocity of light and the expansion of the universe are two aspects of one single concept connecting space and time in the expanding…
The idea here is to set the cosmical constant $\lambda$ proportional to the scalar of the stress-energy tensor of the ordinary matter. We investigate the evolution of the scale factor in a cosmological model in which the cosmological…