Related papers: The Cosmological Constant is Back
We consider a possibility that the cosmological constant may not be a constant, but a free thermodynamical variable. To this end we construct a microscopic model of a spacelike two-sphere just inside of the cosmological horizon of the de…
We consider extra compact dimensions as the origin of a cosmological universal energy density in the regular dimensions, with only graviton fields propagating in the compact space dimensions. The quantum zero point energy originating from…
This contribution reviews recent work on a new approach to the cosmological constant problem, which starts from the macroscopic behavior of a conserved relativistic microscopic variable q. First, the statics of the vacuum energy density 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…
Einstein introduced Cosmological Constant in his field equations in an ad hoc manner. Cosmological constant plays the role of vacuum energy of the universe which is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. To give…
The cosmological constant presents one of the most fascinating and confounding problems in physics. A straightforward, seemingly robust prediction of quantum mechanics and general relativity is that the vacuum energy gravitates. Therefore,…
I try to revive, and possibly reconcile, a debate started a few years ago, about the relative roles of a bare cosmological constant and of a vacuum energy, by taking the attitude to try to get the most from the physics now available as…
Theories of the cosmological constant fall into two classes, those in which the vacuum energy is fixed by the fundamental theory and those in which it is adjustable in some way. For each class we discuss key challenges. The string theory…
One of the most fundamental questions in cosmology is if dark energy is related just to a constant or it is something more complex. In this work, we call the attention to the fact that, under very general conditions, dark energy can be…
Despite the many outstanding cosmological observations leading to a strong evidence for a nonvanishing cosmological constant (CC) term in the gravitational field equations, the theoretical status of this quantity seems to be lagging well…
We consider an effective field theory description of gravity coupled to a scalar field with volume-preserving diffeomorphism and Weyl invariances. The smallness of the cosmological constant is achieved when the potential of the scalar is…
Dynamical vacuum energy or quintessence, a slowly varying and spatially inhomogeneous component of the energy density with negative pressure, is currently consistent with the observational data. One potential difficulty with the idea of…
We regard the background of space-time as a physical system composed of discrete volume elements at the Planck scale and get the internal energy of space-time by Debye model. A temperature-dependent minimum energy limit of the particles is…
Based on our previous attempt, we propose a better way to understand a small but nonzero cosmological constant, as indicated by a number of recent observational studies. We re-examine the assumptions of our model of two scalar fields,…
Recent observations suggest that a large fraction of the energy density of the universe has negative pressure. One explanation is vacuum energy density; another is quintessence in the form of a scalar field slowly evolving down a potential.…
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…
Cosmological constant can always be considered as the on-shell value of a top form in gravitational theories. The top form is field strength of a gauge field, and the theory enjoys a gauge symmetry. We show that cosmological constant is the…
In this work a satisfactory, simple theoretical prediction of the data corresponding to observationally (by fine tuning condition) estimated value of the cosmological constant is given. It is supposed (in conceptually analogy with…
The cosmological constant $\Lambda$ is a free parameter in Einstein's equations of gravity. We propose to fix its value with a boundary condition: test particles should be free when outside causal contact, e.g. at infinity. Under this…
Astronomical observations have shown that the expansion of the universe is at present accelerating, in a way consistent with the presence of a positive cosmological constant. This is a major puzzle, because we do not understand: why the…