Related papers: Could the Gravitons Have Rest Masses?
We have recently shown that both passive and active gravitational masses of a composite body are not equivalent to its energy due to some quantum effects. We have also suggested an idealized and more realistic experiments to detect the…
An speculative solution for the cosmological constant problem is proposed. It is argued that while the true quantum vacuum energy density is of the order of $M_P^4$, the observed classical vacuum energy density may be much smaller due to…
With attempts to quench the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ having so far failed, we instead investigate what could be done if $\Lambda$ is not quenched and actually gets to be as big as elementary particle physics suggests. Since the…
Several authors have argued that self-consistent $f(R)$ gravity models distinct from $\Lambda $CDM are almost ruled out. Confronting such claims, we present a particular two-parameter $f(R)$ model that: (a) is cosmologically viable and…
For higher-derivative f(R) gravity where R is the Ricci scalar, a class of models is proposed which produce viable cosmology different from the LambdaCDM one at recent times and satisfy cosmological, Solar system and laboratory tests. These…
Just like the vector gauge bosons in the gauge theories, it is now known that gravitons acquire mass in the process of spontaneous symmetry breaking of diffeomorphisms through the condensation of scalar fields. The point is that we should…
A precision measurement of the gravitational constant $G$ has been made using a beam balance. Special attention has been given to determining the calibration, the effect of a possible nonlinearity of the balance and the zero-point variation…
Efforts to place limits on deviations from canonical formulations of electromagnetism and gravity have probed length scales increasing dramatically over time.Historically, these studies have passed through three stages: (1) Testing the…
We consider two problems that have vexed physicists for several decades -- dark matter and the cosmological constant. The problem has been that the former has not been detected while the latter gives a far higher value than detected by…
Massive spin 2 theories in flat or cosmological ($\Lambda \ne 0$) backgrounds are subject to discontinuities as the masses tend to zero. We show and explain physically why their Newtonian limits do not inherit this behaviour. On the other…
Many experiments have recently been proposed to test whether non-relativistic gravitational interactions can generate entanglement. In this note, I consider the extent to which these experiments can test if the graviton exists. Assuming…
A relation connecting the {\it{rest mass}} and {\it{separation of events in space-time continuum}} is suggested and the idea of Compton scattering is used as a method for the determination of rest mass. An experiment involving collision of…
In this paper we propose and discuss a notion of mass for compact static metrics with positive cosmological constant. As a consequence, we characterise the de Sitter solution as the only static vacuum metric with zero mass. Finally, we show…
We provide a comprehensive discussion of the Everpresent $\Lambda$ cosmological model arising from fundamental principles in causal set theory and unimodular gravity. In this framework the value of the cosmological constant ($\Lambda$)…
This talk summarizes a new understanding of the cosmological constant problem, which essentially relies on a phase-space-like computation of the vacuum energy, both in the realm of quantum field theory coupled to gravity, and in the realm…
We compute the 4--dimensional cosmological constant in string compactifications in which the Standard Model fields live on a non-supersymmetric brane inside a supersymmetric bulk. The cosmological constant receives contributions only from…
It was suggested that observations of the solar system exclude massive gravity, in the sense that the graviton mass must be rigorously zero. This is because there is a discontinuity in the linearized gravity theory at graviton mass equal to…
We analyze the action $\int d^4x \sqrt{\det||{\cal B} g_{\mu\nu}+ {\cal C} R_{\mu\nu}}||$ as a possible alternative or addition to the Einstein gravity. Choosing a particular form of ${\cal B}(R)= \sqrt {R}$ we can restore the Einstein…
We investigate the gravitational property of the quantum vacuum by treating its large energy density predicted by quantum field theory seriously and assuming that it does gravitate to obey the equivalence principle of general relativity. We…
If Mach's Principle explains the Newtonian inertial reaction to acceleration then the role of the 'fixed stars' should also be manifest through Hamilton's formulation of mechanics. This consistency may be achieved if the expression for…