Related papers: The elastic vacuum
We investigate the gravitational property of the quantum vacuum by treating its large energy density predicted by quantum field theory seriously and assuming that it does gravitate to obey the equivalence principle of general relativity. We…
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…
The energy density associated with Planck length is $\rho_{uv}\propto L_P^{-4}$ while the energy density associated with the Hubble length is $\rho_{ir}\propto L_H^{-4}$ where $L_H=1/H$. The observed value of the dark energy density is…
The conservation law for the angular momentum in curved spacetime, consistent with relativistic quantum mechanics, requires that the antisymmetric part of the affine connection (torsion tensor) is a variable in the principle of least…
We study a massive inflaton minimally coupled to the FRW Universe using the semiclassical gravity derived from canonical quantum gravity. It is found that the semiclassical quantum gravity leads to the power-law expansion $t^{2/3}$ in an…
We describe the puzzles that arise in the quantum theory of black holes, and explain how they are resolved in string theory. We review how the Bekenstein entropy is obtained through the count of brane bound states. We describe the fuzzball…
Vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field induce current fluctuations in resistively shunted Josephson junctions that are measurable in terms of a physical power spectrum. In this paper we investigate under which conditions vacuum…
It is shown that the curvature of space-time induced by vacuum fluctuations of quantum fields should be proportional to the square of Newton's constant $G$. This offers a possible explanation for the success of the approximation $G m^6 c^2…
The notion of vacuum fluctuations of the gravitational field plays important role in cosmology. The strong variable gravitational field of the very early Universe amplifies these fluctuations and transforms them into macroscopical…
We consider an ultra-light scalar field with a mass comparable to (or lighter than) the Hubble parameter of the present universe, and calculate the time evolution of the energy-momentum tensor of the vacuum fluctuations generated during and…
The vacuum fluctuations of all quantum fields filling the universe are supposed to leave enormous energy and pressure contributions which are incompatible with observations. It has been recently suggested that, when the effective nature of…
A remarkable prediction of the Standard Model is that, in the absence of corrections lifting the energy density, the Higgs potential becomes negative at large field values. If the Higgs field samples this part of the potential during…
If spacetime undergoes quantum fluctuations, an electromagnetic wavefront will acquire uncertainties in direction as well as phase as it propagates through spacetime. These uncertainties can show up in interferometric observations of…
Quantum fluctuations can induce a friction on a neutral but polarizable particle and cause it to radiate energy even if the particle is moving in free space filled with blackbody radiation, and is not in contact with or close to any surface…
It is shown, using quantum field theory in curved spacetime, how the expansion of the universe during inflation produces an aggregate of particles and inflaton vacuum fluctuations at a temperature of 5x10^17GeV and dense enough to make…
We show that in imaginary time quantum metric fluctuations of empty space form a self-consistent de Sitter gravitational instanton that can be thought of as describing tunneling from "nothing" into de Sitter space of real time (no…
From an observational perspective cosmology is today in excellent shape - advances in instrumentation and data processing have enabled us to study the universe in detail back to when the first galaxies formed, map the fluctuations in the…
We consider that the universe is trapped in an excited vacuum state and the resulting excitation energy provides the observed dark energy. We explore the conditions under which this situation can arise from physics already known.…
We point out that the standard formulation of the cosmological constant problem itself is problematic since it is trying to apply the very large scale homogeneous cosmological model to very small (Planck) scale phenomenon. At small scales,…
It is pointed out that quantum vacuum fluctuations may give rise to a curvature of space-time equivalent to the curvature currently attributed to dark energy. A simple calculation is made, which suggests that the value of the dark energy…