Related papers: How to determine an effective potential for a vari…
We propose a model in which there exists a real scalar field $q$ satisfying a condition $\dot{q} =MH$ and its energy density is given by $(1/2)\dot{q}^2+V(q)$, where $H$ is the Hubble parameter ($H=\dot{a}/a$) and $M$ is a mass scale…
Based on the assumption that some apparent properties of the observable universe are accurate at a reasonable level of approximation, a tentative is made to independently derive the values of the baryon density parameter, the Hubble…
In theories in which the cosmological constant Lambda takes a variety of values in different ``subuniverses,'' the probability distribution of its observed values is conditioned by the requirement that there must be someone to measure it.…
Observations of high-redshift supernovae indicate that the universe is accelerating. Here we present a {\em model-independent} method for estimating the form of the potential $V(\phi)$ of the scalar field driving this acceleration, and the…
In cosmological models, the Hubble parameter is determined by the time evolution of the scale factor, and current observations reveal a persistent tension between its values inferred from different probes, such as Cepheid variable stars and…
If the observed dark-energy density $\rho_\Lambda$ is interpreted as the net contribution of the energy density of the vacuum, $\rho_\Lambda \equiv \rho_V \sim M_V^4$, and the corresponding vacuum length scale $\lambda_V = M_V^{-1}$ as the…
After a short history of the $\Lambda$-term it is explained why the (effective) cosmological constant is expected to obtain contributions from short-distance physics, corresponding to an energy at least as large as the Fermi scale. The…
A modified-gravity theory is considered with a four-form field strength F, a variable gravitational coupling parameter G(F), and a standard matter action. This theory provides a concrete realization of the general vacuum variable q as the…
We consider a very simple toy model for a spatially varying `cosmological constant', where we are inside a spherical bubble (with a given set of cosmological parameters) that is surrounded by a larger region where these parameters are…
A cosmological observable measured in a range of redshifts can be used as a probe of a set of cosmological parameters. Given the cosmological observable and the cosmological parameter, there is an optimum range of redshifts where the…
A mechanism to control the cosmological constant through a scalar field non-minimally coupled to gravity is proposed. By utilizing non-minimal phantom or quintessence, the cosmological constant, which may be large originally, can be…
In this paper, motivated from the fact that a de Sitter cosmological boundary corresponds to a positive cosmological constant, we consider time variable cosmological constants, dubbed {\it horizon cosmological constants}. The horizon…
We derive explicit and exact expressions for the physical velocity of a free particle comoving with the Hubble flow as measured by a static observer, and for the frequency shift of light emitted by a comoving source and received, again, by…
Some of the soft SUSY breaking parameters in hidden sector supergravity model depend on the expectation value of the hidden sector scalar potential, $<V_h>$, whose tree level value is equal to the tree level cosmological constant. The…
We propose a model for the dust matter in the cosmological context. The model contains a scalar field with a kinetic term nonminimally coupled to gravity. By investigating the background and perturbative equations, it is demonstrated that…
We study the cosmological evolution of scalar fields with arbitrary potentials in the presence of a barotropic fluid (matter or radiation) without making any assumption on which term dominates. We determine what kind of potentials V(phi)…
A generalized quintessence model is presented which corresponds to a richer vacuum structure that, besides a time-dependent, slowly varying scalar field, contains a varying cosmological term. From first principles we determine a number of…
The formation of the cosmic structures in the late Universe is considered using Vlasov kinetic approach. The crucial point is the use of the gravitational potential with repulsive term of the cosmological constant which provides a solution…
An alternative to a cosmological constant is quintessence, defined as a slowly-varying scalar field potential V(\phi). If quintessence is observationally significant, an epoch of inflation is beginning at the present epoch, with \phi the…
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…