Related papers: A new scale in the sky
I review recent work on massive higher (s>1) spins in constant curvature (deSitter) spaces. Some of the novel properties that emerge are: partial masslessness and new local gauge invariances, unitarily forbidden ranges of mass, correlation…
We consider different observational effects to test modified gravity approach involving the cosmological constant in the common description of the dark matter and the dark energy. We obtain upper limits for the cosmological constant by…
The current effort to test General Relativity employs multiple disparate formalisms for different observables, obscuring the relations between laboratory, astrophysical and cosmological constraints. To remedy this situation, we develop a…
We derive universal scaling relations for the low-energy effective action of string theory, connecting the vacuum energy and gauge couplings to higher-derivative Wilson coefficients. At one-loop in string perturbation theory, these generic…
We discuss the possible existence of new long-range forces mediated by spin-1 or spin-0 particles. They would add their effects to those of gravity, and could lead to apparent violations of the Equivalence Principle. Informations on the…
We give a review of the theory of random fields defined on the observable part of the Universe that satisfy the cosmological principle, i.e., invariant with respect to the 6-dimensional group $\mathcal{G}$ of the isometries of the time…
In the debate about galaxy correlation there are different questions which can be addressed separately: Which are the statistical methods able to properly detect scale invariance and describe, in general, the properties of irregular and…
It has recently been argued that string theory does not admit de Sitter vacua. This would imply that the current accelerated expansion of the universe is not driven by a cosmological constant (or vacuum energy) but by other means such as a…
In an Euclidean SU(2) $\otimes$ U(1) gauge theory without fermions, we identify scalar-field variables, functionals of the gauge fields and coming in different representations of isospin, which (i) are of mass dimension one in $d=4$, (ii)…
Motivated by the swampland dS conjecture, we consider a rolling scalar field as the source of dark energy. Furthermore, the swampland distance conjecture suggests that the rolling field will lead at late times to an exponentially light…
GUT scale threshold corrections in minimal SU(5) supergravity grand unification are discussed. It is shown that predictions may be made despite uncertainties associated with the high energy scale. A bound relating the strong coupling…
We investigate whether there are any cosmological evidences for a scalar field with a mass and coupling to matter which change accordingly to the properties of the astrophysical system it "lives in", without directly focusing on the…
The effective field theory of the minimal Low Scale Orientifold Models is developed. It describes universal features of related orientifold vacua in string theory. It contains, beyond the Standard Model fields, an MSSM-like Higgs sector and…
Recently, we have proposed a definition for the vacuum and suggest a mechanism for symmetry breaking. In this mechanism extra massless fields, vacuum fields, arise. We apply our method to the standard model of particle physics and obtain…
We study the gravitational field sourced by localized scalar fields (lumps) in higher-derivative theories of gravity. By working in a static and spherically symmetric configuration, we find the linearized spacetime metrics generated by…
We point out that a field \phi charged under a global U(1) symmetry generally allows for a starred localized extension with the transformation rule, \phi\to U_L\star\phi\star U_R^{-1}. This results in a double gauging of the global U(1)…
Effective field theory provides a way of parameterizing strong-field deviations from General Relativity that might be observable in the gravitational waves emitted in a black hole merger. To perform numerical simulations of mergers in such…
Recent observations of Ultra High Energy Cosmic rays suggest a small violation of Lorentz symmetry. Such a violation is expected in schemes with discrete/quantized spacetime. We examine this situation and suggest tests which could be…
Scalar fields are crucial components in high energy physics and extensions of General Relativity. The fact they are not observed in the solar system may be due to a mechanism which screens their presence in high dense regions. We show how…
According to usual calculations in quantum field theory, both in flat and curved spacetime, the mass $m^2$ of a scalar particle is quadratically sensitive to the ultimate scale of the theory, the UV physical cutoff $\Lambda$. In the present…