Related papers: Entropy Bounds and Dark Energy
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…
It is extraordinary that a number of observations indicate that we live in a spatially flat, low matter density Universe, which is currently undergoing a period of accelerating expansion. The effort to explain this current state has focused…
I review some basic facts about entropy bounds in general and about cosmological entropy bounds. Then I review the Causal Entropy Bound, the conditions for its validity and its application to the study of cosmological singularities. This…
If the observed dark-energy density $\rho_\Lambda$ is interpreted as the net contribution of the energy density of the vacuum, $\rho_\Lambda \equiv \rho_V \sim M_V^4$, and the corresponding vacuum length scale $\lambda_V = M_V^{-1}$ as the…
In discussions of Bousso's Covariant Entropy Bound, the Null Energy Condition is always assumed, as a sufficient {\em but not necessary} condition which helps to ensure that the entropy on any lightsheet shall necessarily be finite. The…
Cosmology at present provides the nominally strongest constraint on the masses of standard model neutrinos. However, this constraint extremely dependent on the nature of the dark energy component of the Universe. When the dark energy…
We explore the effects of a positive cosmological constant on astrophysical and cosmological configurations described by a polytropic equation of state. We derive the conditions for equilibrium and stability of such configurations and…
It is widely believed that as one of the candidates for dark energy, the cosmological constant should relate directly with the quantum vacuum. Despite decades of theoretical effects, however, there is still no quantitative interpretation of…
I review the problem of dark energy focusing on the cosmological constant as the candidate and discuss its implications for the nature of gravity. Part 1 briefly overviews the currently popular `concordance cosmology' and summarises the…
The near-zero value of the cosmological constant \Lambda in an equilibrium context may be due to the existence of a self-tuning relativistic vacuum variable q. Here, a cosmological nonequilibrium context is considered with a corresponding…
Recently, the observed equation of state for dark energy appears to favor values below $-1$. The tendency implies that the nature of dark energy may be quite different from that of the cosmological constant. In view of the adjustment on the…
The (re)introduction of $\Lambda$ into cosmology has spurred debates that touch on central questions in philosophy of science, as well as the foundations of general relativity and particle physics. We provide a systematic assessment of the…
In this essay, we present a new understanding of the cosmological constant problem, built upon the realization that the vacuum energy density can be expressed in terms of a phase space volume. We introduce a UV-IR regularization which…
The paper deals with the scale discrepancy between the observed vacuum energy in cosmology and the theoretical quantum vacuum energy (cosmological constant problem). Here, we demonstrate that Einstein's equation and an analogy to particle…
The fundamental constants of electromagnetism, gravity and quantum mechanics can be related empirically by the numerical approximation $\ln(V_e/V_P)\approx \alpha^{-1}$, where $\alpha$ is the low energy value of the electromagnetic fine…
A finite quantum gravity theory is used to resolve the cosmological constant problem. A fundamental quantum gravity scale, \Lambda_G \leq 10^{-3} eV, is introduced above which the quantum corrections to the vacuum energy density coupled to…
The old cosmological constant problem is to understand why the vacuum energy is so small; the new problem is to understand why it is comparable to the present mass density. Several approaches to these problems are reviewed. Quintessence…
We argue that there is an intrinsic noise on measurements of the equation of state parameter $w=p/\rho$ from large-scale structure around us. The presence of the large-scale structure leads to an ambiguity in the definition of the…
We investigate the restrictions on the equation-of-state parameter of phantom cosmology, due to the minimum quantum gravitational requirements. We find that for all the examined $w_\Lambda(z)$-parametrizations and for arbitrary phantom…
Standard cosmological equations are written for the Hubble volume, while the real boundary of space-time is the event horizon. Within the unimodular and thermodynamic approaches to gravity, the dark energy term in cosmological equations…