Related papers: A Cosmological Constant That is Too Small
String theory has no parameter except the string scale $M_S$, so the Planck scale $M_\text{Pl}$, the supersymmetry-breaking scale, the EW scale $m_\text{EW}$ as well as the vacuum energy density (cosmological constant) $\Lambda$ are to be…
Superconducting cosmic strings may be viewed as wires of thickness $1/\Lambda$ with $\Lambda=10^{16}$ TeV. We show that the weak interactions will spread out the current to distances $r= (1/M_Z)\ln (I/M_Z)$, where $I$ is the magnitude of…
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…
The Randall-Sundrum model of warped geometry in a five-dimensional scenario, aimed at explaining the hierarchy between the Planck and electroweak scales, is intrinsically unstable in its minimal form due to negative tension of the visible…
Although the cosmological constant has primarily cosmological consequences, its smallness poses one of the basic problems in particle physics. Various attempts have been made to explain this mystery, but no satisfactory solution has been…
The observation in the universe of a small but positive vacuum energy strongly suggests, in the string landscape picture, that there will ultimately be a phase transition to an exactly supersymmetric universe. This ground state or "true…
In a universe whose elementary constituents are point particles there does not seem to be any obvious mechanism for avoiding the initial singularities in physical quantities in the standard model of cosmology. In contrast in string theory…
By using zero-norm states in the spectrum, we explicitly demonstrate the existence of an infinite number of high energy symmetry structures of the closed bosonic string theory. Each symmetry transformation (except those generated by…
We study a symmetry, schematically Energy -> - Energy, which suppresses matter contributions to the cosmological constant. The requisite negative energy fluctuations are identified with a "ghost" copy of the Standard Model. Gravity…
In this article the cosmological constant problems, as well as the astronomical evidence for a cosmologically significant homogeneous exotic energy density with negative pressure (quintessence), are reviewed for a broad audience of…
We discuss how we remove a huge discrepancy between the theory of a cosmological constant, due to the zero-point energies of matter fields, and the observation. The technique of dimensional regularization plays a decisive role. We…
The problem of cosmological constant and vacuum energy is usually thought of as the subject of general relativity. However, the vacuum energy is important for the Universe even in the absence of gravity, i.e. in the case when the Newton…
In this review we present a theory of cosmological constant and Dark Energy (DE), based on the topological structure of the vacuum. The Multiple Point Principle (MPP) is reviewed. It demonstrates the existence of the two vacua into the SM.…
String theory contains sources like orientifold planes that support higher derivative interactions. These interactions make possible static flux compactifications which are forbidden in supergravity. They can also lead to violations of the…
The existence of a dilaton (or moduli) with gravitational-strength coupling to matter imposes stringent constraints on the allowed energy scale of cosmic strings, $\eta$. In particular, superheavy gauge strings with $\eta \sim 10^{16} GeV$…
We consider the cosmology obtained using scalar fields with a negative potential energy, such as employed to obtain an Ekpyrotic phase of contraction. Applying the covariant entropy bound to the tower of states dictated by the distance…
We consider the 1-loop effective potential in type I string theory compactified on a torus, with supersymmetry broken by the Scherk-Schwarz mechanism. At fixed supersymmetry breaking scale M, and up to exponentially suppressed terms, we…
In this work we suggest a simple model of the cosmological constant as the coefficient of the quantum tunneling of vacuum fluctuations (with wave length larger than Planck length) at tiny, boundary spherical shell of the universe (with…
The classical electromagnetic modes outside a long, straight, superconducting cosmic string are calculated, assuming the string to be surrounded by a superconducting cylindric surface of radius R. Thereafter, by use of a Bogoliubov-type…
The interplay between string theory and cosmology is very promising. Since string theory will yield a quantum theory of space-time and unify all forces of nature, it has the potential of addressing many of the conceptual problems of the…