Related papers: The vacuum energy crisis
Possibility of gravitational repulsion in General Relativity is discussed and astronomical data in favor of cosmological acceleration are described. The problem of vacuum energy is emphasized and possible ways of its solution are indicated.…
In a recent paper (Phys. Rev. D95, 103504 (2017)) it is argued that, due to the fluctuations around its mean value, vacuum energy gravitates differently from what previously assumed. As a consequence, the universe would accelerate with a…
It is shown that quantum vacuum fluctuations give rise to a curvature of space-time of the order appropriate to explain the observed accelerated expansion of the universe. The fact that the fluctuations produce curvature, even if the…
We investigate several varying-mass dark-matter particle models in the framework of phantom cosmology. We examine whether there exist late-time cosmological solutions, corresponding to an accelerating universe and possessing dark energy and…
VAMP (variable-mass particles) scenarios, in which the mass of the cold dark matter particles is a function of the scalar field responsible for the present acceleration of the Universe, have been proposed as a solution to the cosmic…
To explain the currently observed accelerated expansion of the universe, a large number of different theoretical models are presently being discussed. In one way or another, all of these contain `new physics', though at different levels.…
Quantum field theory predicts that vacuum energy (or what is the same, cosmological constant) should be 50-100 orders of magnitude larger than the existing astronomical limit. A very brief review of possible solutions of this problem is…
We present an approach to the problem of vacuum energy in cosmology, based on dynamical screening of Lambda on the horizon scale. We review first the physical basis of vacuum energy as a phenomenon connected with macroscopic boundary…
We discuss the vacuum energy density term resulting from the spontaneous breakdown of the electroweak gauge symmetry, in the Higgs Mechanism. We alternatively expand the scalar field at one of the degenerate states that lie outside the…
The mass varying neutrino scenario is a model that successfully explains the origin of dark energy while at the same time solves the coincidence problem. The model is, however, heavily constrained by its stability towards the formation of…
I briefly review the cosmological constant problem and the issue of dark energy (or quintessence). Within the framework of quantum field theory, the vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor formally diverges as $k^4$. A cutoff…
In earlier work it was shown that a weak modification of general relativity, in the linearized approach, renders a spherically symmetric and stationary model of the Universe. This was due to the presence of a third mode of polarization in…
Cosmic acceleration is explained quantitatively, as an apparent effect due to gravitational energy differences that arise in the decoupling of bound systems from the global expansion of the universe. "Dark energy" is a misidentification of…
The concept of an all pervading Aether is age old, and contrary to popular belief, it survived the twentieth century too though with different nuances. Using this concept of a background Quantum Vacuum, the author in 1997 proposed a…
Astronomical observations have shown that the expansion of the universe is at present accelerating, consistently with a constant negative pressure or tension. This is a major puzzle because we do not understand why this tension is so small…
It was recently suggested (arxiv:2410.06604) that the small value of the dark energy of the universe could be explained in terms of the scale of neutrino masses through a simple quantum field theoretic mechanism. I clarify that the quantity…
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…
A set of temporal singularities (transients) in the mass-energy density and pressure, bearing a specific mathematical structure which represents a new solution to the continuity equation (\ie~conservation of mass-energy) and satisfying the…
There is compelling evidence that the Universe is undergoing a late phase of accelerated expansion. One of the simplest explanations for this behaviour is the presence of dark energy. A plethora of microphysical models for dark energy have…
Dynamical dark energy (DE) has been proposed to explain various aspects of the cosmological constant (CC) problem(s). For example, it is very difficult to accept that a strictly constant Lambda-term constitutes the ultimate explanation for…