Related papers: Surface Tension and the Cosmological Constant
For almost a century, the cosmological constant has been a mysterious object, in relation to both its origin and its very small value. By using a Bose-Einstein condensate analogue model for gravitational dynamics, we address here the…
The existence of a simple spherically symmetric and static solution of the Einstein equations in the presence of a cosmological constant vanishing outside a definite value of the radial distance is investigated. A particular succession of…
We propose a novel explanation for the smallness of the observed cosmological constant (CC). Regions of space with a large CC are short lived and are dynamically driven to crunch soon after the end of inflation. Conversely, regions with a…
We reanalyze the problem of the cosmological constant associated with the phase transition in a self-interacting scalar theory. It is pointed out that the generally accepted ``triviality'' of $(\lambda\Phi^4)_4$ implies a first-order phase…
Big Bang models of the Universe predict rapid domination by curvature, a paradox known as the flatness problem. Solutions to this problem usually leave the Universe exactly flat for every practical purpose. Explaining a nearly but not…
Recently it has been argued that a correct reading of the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum could lead to a solution to the cosmological constant problem. In this work we critically examine such a proposal, finding it questionable due to…
A new approach to the cosmological constant problem is proposed by modifying Einstein's theory of general relativity, using instead a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation. This theory of gravity crucially incorporates the concept of quantum…
There are two strong clues about the quantum structure of spacetime and the gravitational dynamics, which are almost universally ignored in the conventional approaches to quantize gravity. The first clue is that null surfaces exhibit…
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 scale of at least 100 GeV. The actual tiny…
One often hears that the strong $CP$ problem is the one problem which cannot be solved by anthropic reasoning. We argue that this is not so. Due to nonperturbative dynamics, states with a different $CP$ violating paramenter $\theta$ acquire…
We discuss the cosmological constant problem, at the minisuperspace level, within the framework of the so-called normalized general relativity (NGR). We prove that the Universe cannot be closed, and reassure that the accompanying…
Two sides of cosmological constant problem are discussed: a mysterious compensation of all contributions to vacuum energy with the accuracy of 100-50 orders of magnitude and a surprising equality of a constant vacuum energy density to the…
In the no-scale supergravity global symmetries protect local supersymmetry and a zero value for the cosmological constant. The breakdown of these symmetries, which ensures the vanishing of the vacuum energy density, results in a set of…
We study the problem of the cosmological constant in the context of the multiverse in Lorentzian spacetime, and show that the cosmological constant will vanish in the future. This sort of argument was started from Coleman in 1989, and he…
At the level of the Planck scale, the spacetime metric has to be considered a quantum variable. Conformal quantum fluctuations of the metric tensor are studied here. They lead to an extra term in the Einstein equations which can be…
We discuss how the modifications of the standard Einstein's equations needed to support the cosmological bounce can at the same time lead to vanishing of the well known cosmological constant problem, while also studying the effects of…
The near vanishing of the cosmological constant is one of the most puzzling open problems in theoretical physics. We consider a system, the so-called framid, that features a technically similar problem. Its stress-energy tensor has a…
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 observe that the standard homogeneous cosmologies, those of Minkowski, de Sitter, and anti-de Sitter, which form the matrix for the Robertson--Walker scale factor, live naturally as isolated points inside a larger family of conformally…
This paper continues the development of a discrete space-time concept that is recently used in the explanation of the cosmological constant. Instead of order estimation, a more theoretical treatment of the theory is introduced. Based on the…