Related papers: String-inspired running-vacuum cosmology, quantum …
We compute the one-loop quantum corrections to the gravitational potentials of a spinning point particle in a de Sitter background, due to the vacuum polarisation induced by conformal fields in an effective field theory approach. We…
Inflation is a necessary cosmic mechanism to cure basic inconsistencies of the standard model of cosmology. These problems are usually `fixed' by postulating the existence of a scalar field (called the ``inflaton''). However, other less ad…
We consider quantum effects of a massive antisymmetric tensor field on the dynamics of de Sitter space-time. Our starting point is the most general, stable, linearized Lagrangian arising in nonsymmetric gravitational theories (NGTs), where…
We study quantum strings in strong gravitational fields. The relevant small parameter is $g=R_c{\sqrt T_0}$, where $R_c$ is the curvature of the spacetime and $T_0$ is the string tension. Within our systematic expansion we obtain to zeroth…
For the electromagnetic field in (D+1)-dimensional locally de Sitter (dS) spacetime, we analyze the effects of a generalized cosmic string type defect on the vacuum expectation value of the energy-momentum tensor. For the Bunch-Davies…
It has recently been conjectured that string theory does not admit de Sitter vacua, and that quintessence explains the current epoch of accelerated cosmic expansion. A proposed, key prediction of this scenario is time-varying couplings in…
On the occasion of a century from the proposal of General relativity by Einstein, I attempt to tackle some open issues in modern cosmology, via a toy but non-trivial model. Specifically, I would like to link together: (i) the smallness of…
The dynamics of density and metric perturbations is investigated for the previously developed model where the decay of the vacuum energy into matter (or vice versa) is due to the renormalization group (RG) running of the cosmological…
Linearized fluctuations of quantized matter fields and the spacetime geometry around de Sitter space are considered in the case that the matter fields are conformally invariant. Taking the unperturbed state of the matter to be the de Sitter…
It is well-known that quantum field theory (QFT) induces a huge value of the cosmological constant, $\Lambda$, which is outrageously inconsistent with cosmological observations. We review here some aspects of this fundamental theoretical…
String dynamics in a curved space-time is studied on the basis of an action functional including a small parameter of rescaled tension $\epsilon=\gamma/\alpha^{\prime}$, where $\gamma$ is a metric parametrizing constant. A rescaled slow…
We show that the vacuum energy of a free quantized field of very low mass can significantly alter the recent expansion of the universe. The effective action of the theory is obtained from a non-perturbative sum of scalar curvature terms in…
Current-carrying string loop dynamics in Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetimes characterized by the cosmological parameter {\lambda}=1/3{\Lambda}M^2 is investigated. With attention concentrated to the axisymmetric motion of string loops it is…
Several new results regarding the quantum cosmology of the quadratic gravity theory derived from the heterotic string effective action are presented. After describing techniques for solving the Wheeler-De Witt equation with appropriate…
In this paper we investigate the cosmological effects of modified gravity with string curvature corrections added to Einstein-Hilbert action in the presence of a dynamically evolving scalar field coupled to Riemann invariants. The scenario…
Despite the outstanding achievements of modern cosmology, the classical dispute on the precise value of $H_0$, which is the first ever parameter of modern cosmology and one of the prime parameters in the field, still goes on and on after…
We construct a string theory in three-dimensional anti-de Sitter space-time that is independent of the boundary metric. It is a topologically twisted theory of quantum gravity. We study string theories with an asymptotic N=2 superconformal…
String theory is arguably the best candidate for a theory of quantum gravity and unified interactions. Reconciling Einstein's theory of General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics. The theory however is best understood on Minkowski and…
The cosmological constant term, $\Lambda$, in Einstein's equations has been for three decades a building block of the concordance or standard $\Lambda$CDM model of cosmology. Although the latter is not free of fundamental problems, it…
Despite the fact that a rigid $\Lambda$-term is a fundamental building block of the concordance $\Lambda$CDM model, we show that a large class of cosmological scenarios with dynamical vacuum energy density $\rho_{\Lambda}$ and/or…