Related papers: Does loop quantum gravity imply Lambda=0?
Most of the literature on general relativity over the last century assumes that the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ is zero. However, by now independent observations have led to a consensus that the dynamics of the universe is best…
Loop quantum gravity, a non-perturbative and manifestly background free, quantum theory of gravity implies that at the kinematical level the spatial geometry is discrete in a specific sense. The spirit of background independence also…
Aspects of the full theory of loop quantum gravity can be studied in a simpler context by reducing to symmetric models like cosmological ones. This leads to several applications where loop effects play a significant role when one is…
The idea that the cosmological term, Lambda, should be a time dependent quantity in cosmology is a most natural one. It is difficult to conceive an expanding universe with a strictly constant vacuum energy density, namely one that has…
A contribution of quantum vacuum to the energy momentum tensor is inevitably experienced in the present universe. One requires the presence of non-zero cosmological constant ($\Lambda$) to make the various observations consistent. A case of…
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…
Quantum gravity, as a fundamental theory of space-time, is expected to reveal how the universe may have started, perhaps during or before an inflationary epoch. It may then leave a potentially observable (but probably minuscule) trace in…
Quantum gravity is sometimes considered as a kind of metaphysical speculation. In this review, we show that, although still extremely difficult to reach, observational signatures can in fact be expected. The early universe is an invaluable…
The existence of a non-zero cosmological constant $\Lambda$ gives rise to controversial interpretations. Is $\Lambda$ a universal constant fixing the geometry of an empty universe, as fundamental as the Planck constant or the speed of light…
The asymptotic structure of the gravitational field of isolated systems has been analyzed in great detail in the case when the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ is zero. The resulting framework lies at the foundation of research in diverse…
We analyze properties of unstable vacuum states from the point of view of the quantum theory. In the literature one can find some suggestions that some of false (unstable) vacuum states may survive up to times when their survival…
Gravitational waves have been directly detected and astronomical observations indicate that our Universe has a positive cosmological constant $\Lambda$. Nevertheless, a theoretical gauge-invariant notion of gravitational waves arriving at…
In cosmology, the cosmic curvature $K$ and the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ are two important parameters, and the values have strong influence on the behavior of the universe. In the context of normal cosmology, under the ordinary…
Determining the initial state of the universe is a challenging problem in quantum cosmology and we argue that the issue is intractable if the basic postulates of quantum mechanics are not modified in a nontrivial way. Namely a "standard"…
In the present article, which is the first part of a work in three parts, we build an equation of quantum gravity. This equation is tensorial, is equivalent to general relativity in vacuum, but differs completely from general relativity…
A set of diverse but mutually consistent results obtained in different settings has spawned a new view of loop quantum gravity and its physical implications, based on the interplay of operator calculations and effective theory: Quantum…
General relativity promotes space-time to a physical, dynamical object subject to equations of motion. Quantum gravity, accordingly, must provide a quantum framework for space-time, applicable on the smallest distance scales. Just like…
Quantum gravity is expected to be necessary in order to understand situations where classical general relativity breaks down. In particular in cosmology one has to deal with initial singularities, i.e. the fact that the backward evolution…
The cosmological constant $\Lambda$ is a measure of the energy density of the vacuum. Therefore properties of the energy of the system in the metastable vacuum state reflect properties of $\Lambda = \Lambda(t)$. We analyze properties of the…
In the investigation and resolution of the cosmological constant problem the inclusion of the dynamics of quantum gravity can be a crucial step. In this work we suggest that the quantum constraints in a canonical theory of gravity can…