Related papers: String Theory and Quintessence
Recent astronomical observations indicate that the universe is accelerating. We argue that generic quintessence models that accommodate the present day acceleration tend to accelerate eternally. As a consequence the resulting spacetimes…
The existence of future horizons in spacetime geometries poses serious problems for string theory and quantum field theories. The observation that the expansion of the universe is accelerating has recently been shown to lead to a crisis for…
Recent observations indicate that the universe's expansion has been accelerating of late. But recent theoretical work has highlighted the difficulty of squaring acceleration with the underlying assumptions of string theory, disfavoring most…
It is shown that if a small negative cosmological constant is added to quintessence models with equation of state $p=\omega\rho$ on the range $-1 <\omega < -1/3$, the resulting scenarios could not contain any future event horizons.…
We explore the possibility that our universe's current accelerated expansion is explained by a quintessence model with an exponential scalar potential, $V =V_0\, e^{-\lambda\, \phi}$, keeping an eye towards $\lambda \geq \sqrt{2}$ and an…
The apparent observation of dark energy poses problems for string theory. In de Sitter space, or in quintessence models, one cannot define a gauge-invariant S-matrix. We argue that eternal quintessence does not arise in weakly coupled…
Presently there is preliminary observational evidence that the cosmological constant might be non zero, and hence that our Universe is eternally accelerating (de Sitter). This poses fundamental problems for string theory, since a scattering…
We consider quintessence models within 4D effective descriptions of gravity coupled to two scalar fields. These theories are known to give rise to viable models of late-time cosmic acceleration without any need for flat potentials, and so…
We critically assess the twin prospects of describing the observed universe in string theory, and using cosmological experiments to probe string theory. For the purposes of this short review, we focus on the limitations imposed by our…
A slow-rolling scalar field ($Q\equiv$ Quintessence) with potential energy $V_Q\sim (3\times 10^{-3} {\rm eV})^4$ has been proposed as the origin of accelerating universe at present. We investigate the effective potential of $Q$ in the…
An accelerating Universe can be accommodated naturally within non-critical string theory, in which scattering is described by a superscattering matrix \$ that does not factorize as a product of $S$- and $S^\dagger$-matrix elements and time…
It has been argued in the literature that if a universe is expanding with an accelerating rate indefinitely, it presents a challenge to string theories due to the existence of event horizons. We study the fate of a currently accelerating…
String theory and supersymmetry are theoretical ideas that go beyond the standard model of particle physics and show promise for unifying all forces. After a brief introduction to supersymmetry, we discuss the prospects for its experimental…
The mystery of the cosmological constant is probably the most pressing obstacle to significantly improving the models of elementary particle physics derived from string theory. The problem arises because in the standard framework of low…
There is evidence that string theory possesses a large discretuum of stable and/or metastable ground states, with zero or four supersymmetries in four dimensions. I discuss critically the nature of this evidence. Assuming this "landscape"…
We demonstrate that string consistency in four spacetime dimensions leads to a spectrum of string states which satisfies the supertrace constraints Str(M^0)=0 and Str(M^2)=\Lambda at tree level, where \Lambda is the one-loop string…
String theory avoids the ultraviolet infinities that arise in trying to quantize gravity. It is also more predictive than conventional quantum field theory, one aspect of this being the way that it contributed to the emergence of the…
We study the observational constraints for the axion models in string theory which can successfully act as quintessence. The evolution of the universe in this model is sensitive to the initial value of the axion field. This initial value of…
It has recently been conjectured that string theory does not admit de Sitter vacua, and that quintessence explains the current epoch of accelerated cosmic expansion. A proposed, key prediction of this scenario is time-varying couplings in…
Currently, string theory represents the only advanced approach to a unification of all interactions, including gravity. In spite of the more than thirty years of its existence it did not make any empirically testable predictions. And it is…