Related papers: The cosmological constant, dark matter, and other …
The cosmological constant (CC) term in Einstein's equations, Lambda, was first associated to the idea of vacuum energy density. Notwithstanding, it is well-known that there is a huge, in fact appalling, discrepancy between the theoretical…
One hope to solve the cosmological constant problem is to identify a symmetry principle, based on which the cosmological constant can be reduced either to zero, or to a tiny value. Here, we note that requiring that the vacuum state is…
We present a possible understanding to the issues of cosmological constant, inflation, matter and coincidence problems based only on the Einstein equation and Hawking particle production. The inflation appears and results agree to…
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 study cosmological solutions for the very early universe beginning at the Planck scale for a universe containing radiation, curvature and, as a simplification of a possible scalar field potential, a cosmological constant term. The…
We discuss cosmological solutions for a diffeomorphism invariant gauge theory of the non-compact Lorentz group $SO(1,3)$. Besides the gauge bosons our model of pregeometry contains a vector field in the vector representation of $SO(1,3)$…
Arguably our current cosmological paradigm, the so-called $\Lambda$CDM `concordance model', faces an existential crisis. This has largely been brought about by its reliance on the twin concepts of dark matter and dark energy, and the…
The old cosmological-constant (CC) problem indicates an inconsistency of the usual formulation of semiclassical gravity. The usual formulation of semiclassical gravity also seems to be inconsistent with the conventional interpretation of…
The cosmological constant problem is the principal obstacle in the attempt to interpret dark energy as the quantum vacuum energy. We suggest that the obstacle can be removed, i.e. that the cosmological constant problem can be resolved by…
We use two simple independent gedankan experiments to show that the holographic principle can be understood intuitively as having its origin in the quantum fluctuations of spacetime. Applied to cosmology, this consideration leads to a…
The Standard Cosmological Model of the 1980's is no more. I describe the definitive evidence that the density of matter is insufficient to result in a flat universe, as well as the mounting evidence that the cosmological constant is not…
During the last ten years astrophysical cosmology has brought three remarkable results of deep impact for fundamental physics: the existence of non-baryonic dark matter, the (nearly) flatness of space, the domination of the density of the…
This work develops and explores a quantum-based theory which enables the nature and origin of cold dark matter (CDM) to be understood without need to introduce exotic particles. The quantum approach predicts the existence of certain…
The old cosmological constant problem is to understand why the vacuum energy is so small; the new problem is to understand why it is comparable to the present mass density. Several approaches to these problems are reviewed. Quintessence…
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…
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…
A diverse set of observations now compellingly suggest that Universe possesses a nonzero cosmological constant. In the context of quantum-field theory a cosmological constant corresponds to the energy density of the vacuum, and the wanted…
The traditional "explanation" for the observed acceleration of the universe is the existence of a positive cosmological constant. However, this can hardly be a truly convincing explanation, as an expanding universe is not expected to have a…
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…
Some remarkable examples of alternative cosmological theories are reviewed here, ranging from a compilation of variations on the Standard Model through the more distant quasi-steady-state cosmology, plasma cosmology, or universe models as a…