Related papers: Empty space and the (positive) cosmological consta…
A spatially flat Robertson-Walker spacetime driven by a cosmological constant is non-conformally coupled to a massless scalar field. The equations of semiclassical gravity are explicitly solved for this case, and a self-consistent de Sitter…
Gravitational holography is argued to render the cosmological constant stable against divergent quantum corrections. This provides a technically natural solution to the cosmological constant problem. Evidence for quantum stability of the…
We describe a link between the cosmological constant problem and the problem of time in quantum gravity. This arises by examining the relationship between the cosmological constant and vacuum energy in light of non-perturbative formulations…
The harmonic oscillator in pseudo euclidean space is studied. A straightforward procedure reveals that although such a system may have negative energy, it is stable. In the quantized theory the vacuum state has to be suitably defined and…
Considering the vacuum as characterized by the presence of only the gravitational field, we show that the vacuum energy density of the de Sitter space, in the realm of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity, can acquire…
We consider $d$-dimensional static spacetimes in Einstein gravity with a cosmological constant in the presence of a minimally coupled massless scalar field. The spacetimes have a $(d-2)$-dimensional base manifold given by an Einstein space…
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…
We argue that quantum theory should proceed not from a spacetime background but from a Lie algebra, which is treated as a symmetry algebra. Then the fact that the cosmological constant is positive means not that the spacetime background is…
In this essay we offer a comprehensible overview of the gravitational aether scenario. This is a possible extension of Einstein's theory of relativity to the quantum regime via an effective approach. Quantization of gravity usually faces…
We argue that standard tools of holography can be used to describe fully non-perturbative microscopic models of cosmology in which a period of accelerated expansion may result from the positive potential energy of time-dependent scalar…
The cosmological constant problem is studied in a two component cosmological model. The universe contains a cosmological constant of an arbitrary size and sign and an additional component with an inhomogeneous equation of state. It is shown…
In many interesting models, including superstring theories, a negative vacuum energy is predicted. Although this effect is usually regarded as undesirable from a cosmological point of view, we show that this can be the basis for a new…
In the presence of a cosmological constant, ordinary Poincare' special relativity is no longer valid and must be replaced by a de Sitter special relativity, in which Minkowski space is replaced by a de Sitter spacetime. In consequence, the…
The general thermodynamic analysis of the quantum vacuum, which is based on our knowledge of the vacua in condensed-matter systems, is consistent with the Einstein earlier view on the cosmological constant. In the equilibrium Universes the…
We show that a positive cosmological constant is incompatible with the quantum-corpuscular resolution of de Sitter metric in form of a coherent state. The reason is very general and is due to the quantum self-destruction of the coherent…
Alternative approaches to the study of the quantum-gravity problem are handling the role of spacetime very differently. Some are focusing on the analysis of one or another novel formulation of "empty spacetime", postponing to later stages…
If the observed dark energy is a cosmological constant, the canonical state of the universe is de Sitter spacetime. In such a spacetime, quantum fluctuations that violate the null energy condition will create islands of matter that, if…
We discuss some general properties of quantum gravity in De Sitter space. It has been argued that the Hilbert space is of finite dimension. This suggests a macroscopic argument that General Relativity cannot be quantized -- unless it is…
We show how the scalar field, a candidate of quintessence, in a proposed model of the scalar-tensor theories of gravity provides a way to understand a small but nonzero cosmological constant as indicated by recent observations. A particular…
We first give simple arguments in favor of the "Zero Constants Party", i.e. that quantum theory should not contain fundamental dimensionful constants at all. Then we argue that quantum theory should proceed not from a space-time background…