Related papers: Quintessence with two energy scales
The observation of a scalar resonance at the LHC, compatible with perturbative electroweak symmetry breaking, reinforces the Standard Model parameterisation of all subatomic data. The logarithmic evolution of the SM gauge and matter…
This research aims to consider a new principle of symmetry in the space-time by means of the elimination of the classical idea of rest including a universal minimum limit of speed in the subatomic world. Such a limit, unattainable by the…
In the past three years our views on how the standard model of particle physics could be embedded into string theory have dramatically changed. The heterotic string is no longer the only possibility for such an embedding and other…
We investigate quintessence and phantom dark energy scenarios, in which the scalar fields evolve in nearly flat potentials and are non-minimally coupled to gravity. We show that all such models converge to a common behavior and we provide…
An extremely light ($m_{\phi} \ll 10^{-33} {\rm eV}$), slowly-varying scalar field $\phi $ (quintessence) with a potential energy density as large as 60% of the critical density has been proposed as the origin of the accelerated expansion…
String theory is the leading candidate for a unified theory of the standard model and gravity. In the last few years theorists have realized that there is a unique structure underlying string theory. In this unification a prominent role is…
We show that theories in which supersymmetry is broken via Scherk-Schwarz compactification at the weak scale, possess at least one scalar particle with Compton wavelength in the millimetre range, which mediates a force with strength 1/3 of…
Fundamental string theory has been used to show that low energy excitations of certain black holes are described by a two dimensional conformal field theory. This picture has been found to be extremely robust. In this paper it is argued…
Combining the quantum scale invariance with the absence of new degrees of freedom above the electroweak scale leads to stability of the latter against perturbative quantum corrections. Nevertheless, the hierarchy between the weak and the…
De Sitter solutions have been recently conjectured to be incompatible with quantum gravity. In this paper we critically assess the progress and challenges of different mechanisms to obtain de Sitter vacua in string compactifications and…
Theories where the Planck scale is dynamically generated from dimensionless interactions provide predictive inflationary potentials and super-Planckian field variations. We first study the minimal single-field realisation in the low-energy…
We discuss the possible applications of string theory for the construction of generalizations of the $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ standard model of strong and electroweak interactions. This includes an investigation of effective $d=4$…
A nearly-massless, slowly-rolling scalar field $\phi$ may provide most of the energy density of the current universe. One potential difficulty with this idea is that couplings to ordinary matter, even if suppressed by the Planck scale,…
We investigate the possibility of replacing the cosmological constant with gradual condensation of a scalar field produced during the decay of a superheavy dark matter. The advantage of this class of models to the ordinary quintessence is…
Why are the cosmological constant, electroweak and Planck scales so different? This ``double hierarchy" problem, where $\Lambda \ll M^2_{EW} \ll M^2_p$, is one of the most pressing in fundamental physics. We show that in a theory of $N$…
We address the fine-tuning problem of dark energy cosmologies which arises when the dark energy density needs to initially lie in a narrow range in order for its present value to be consistent with observations. As recently noticed, this…
Brans--Dicke scalar--tensor theory provides a conformally coupling of the scalar field with gravity in Einstein's frame. This model is equivalent to an interacting quintessence in which dark matter is coupled to dark energy. This provides a…
The recent observations of type Ia supernovae strongly support that the universe is accelerating now and decelerated in the recent past. By assuming a general relation between the quintessence potential and the quintessence kinetic energy,…
A global scale-invariant Dark Energy model based on Induced Gravity with the addition of a small $R^2$ contribution is examined. The scalar field (quintessence), playing the role of Dark Energy, has a quartic potential and generates…
We explain why the concept of a spontaneously broken superconformal symmetry is useful to describe inflationary models favored by the Planck. Non-minimal coupling of complex scalars to curvature, N(X, X*) R, is compulsory for superconformal…