Related papers: Categorizing Different Approaches to the Cosmologi…
Invited contribution to the Encyclopedia of Mathematical Physics (2nd edition), providing an overview over some main ideas and results in quantum cosmology. Key points: Canonical quantisation of homogeneous, isotropic cosmology; discussion…
At present a number of current or proposed experiments are directed towards a search for a `new physics' by detecting variations of fundamental physical constants or violations of certain basic symmetries. Various problems related to the…
We discuss how entropy bounds, which are not respected in the standard cosmology, constrain the parameters of a previously suggested cosmology with a finite total mass. In that alternative cosmology the matter density was postulated to be a…
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…
For a large region of parameter space involving the cosmological constant and mass parameters, we discuss fluctuating spacetime solutions that are effectively Minkowskian on large time and distance scales. Rapid, small amplitude…
A set of scaling laws, based on the stochastic motions of the granular components of astronomical systems, is applied to a cosmological model with a positive cosmological constant. It follows that the mass of the dominant particle in the…
We discuss the possibility of a dynamical solution to the cosmological constant problem in the contaxt of six-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory. A definite answer requires an understanding of the full bulk cosmology in the early universe,…
We have recently introduced an approach for studying perturbatively classical and quantum canonical general relativity. The perturbative technique appears to preserve many of the attractive features of the non-perturbative quantization…
There are theories which implement the idea that the constants of nature may be "time dependent." These introduce new fields representing "evolving constants," in addition to physical fields. We argue that dynamical matter coupling…
A multidimensional cosmological model with space-time consisting of n (n>1) Einstein spaces M_i is investigated in the presence of a cosmological constant Lambda and m homogeneous minimally coupled scalar fields as a matter source. Classes…
We present a new solution to the cosmological constant (CC) and coincidence problems in which the observed value of the CC, $\Lambda$, is linked to other observable properties of the universe. This is achieved by promoting the CC from a…
The standard formulation of the cosmological constant problem is based on one critical assumption---the spacetime is homogeneous and isotropic, which is true only on cosmological scales. However, this problem is caused by extremely small…
In the framework of a model of minimal of dilatonic gravity (MDG) with cosmological potential we consider: the relations of MDG with nonlinear gravity and string theory; natural cosmological units, defined by cosmological constant; the…
A comparison of the standard models in particle physics and in cosmology demonstrates that they are not compatible, though both are well established. Basics of modern cosmology are briefly reviewed. It is argued that the measurements of the…
This is a review of the physics and cosmology of the cosmological constant. Focusing on recent developments, I present a pedagogical overview of cosmology in the presence of a cosmological constant, observational constraints on its…
We exhibit a mechanism which dynamically adjusts cosmological constant toward $0^+$. The adjustment is quantum-mechanical, discharging cosmological constant in random discrete steps. It renders de Sitter space unstable, and triggers its…
The incorporation of a small cosmological constant within radiatively-broken scale-invariant models is discussed. We show that phenomenologically consistent scale-invariant models can be constructed which allow a small positive cosmological…
Quantum cosmology has traditionally been studied at the level of symmetry-reduced minisuperspace models, analyzing the behavior of wave functions. However, in the absence of a complete full setting of quantum gravity and detailed knowledge…
We modify the action of Mannheim's conformally invariant model by changing the sign of two coefficients. This breaks conformal symmetry, but results in a cosmology that has a positive effective G and at the same time retains one of the main…
We show that the cosmological constant appears as a Lagrange multiplier if nature is described by a canonical noncommutative spacetime. It is thus an arbitrary parameter unrelated to the action and thus to vacuum fluctuations. The…