Related papers: Vacuum condensates and `ether-drift' experiments
It is proposed that the vacuum admits two different phases as described by the Chaplygin equation of state or its generalised version: a phase where the energy density behaves as if dominated by non-relativistic matter and a de Sitter…
With the idea of canceling the leading divergence in vacuum energy of $\varphi^4$ field theory a parameter is introduced that interpolates between free Hamiltonian with or without normal ordering. This leads to a condensate ground state…
It is generally assumed that the physical vacuum of particle physics should be characterized by an energy momentum tensor in such a way to preserve exact Lorentz invariance. On the other hand, if the ground state were characterized by its…
The failure to calculate the vacuum energy is a central problem in theoretical physics. Presumably the problem arises from the insistent use of effective field theory reasoning in a context that is well beyond its intended scope. If one…
We consider a Lorentz-violating theory of gravity where the aether vector is taken to be nondynamical. This "ponderable aether theory" is almost the same as Einstein-aether theory (where the aether vector is dynamical), but involves…
Neutron stars are astrophysical laboratories of many extremes of physics. Their rich phenomenology provides insights into the state and composition of matter at densities which cannot be reached in terrestrial experiments. Since the core of…
Quantum vacuum experiments are becoming a flexible tool for investigating fundamental physics. They are particularly powerful for searching for new light but weakly interacting degrees of freedom and are thus complementary to…
The condensed matter examples, in which the effective gravity appears in the low-energy corner as one of the collective modes of quantum vacuum, provide a possible answer to the question, why the vacuum energy is so small. This answer comes…
I present the case for fundamental physics experiments in space playing an important role in addressing the current "dark energy'' crisis. If cosmological observations continue to favor a value of the dark energy equation of state parameter…
The fact that quantum gravity does not admit an invariant vacuum state has far-reaching consequences for all physics. It points out that space could not be empty, and we return to the notion of an aether. Such a concept requires a preferred…
There appears to be three, perhaps related, ways of approaching the nature of vacuum energy . The first is to say that it is just the lowest energy state of a given, usually quantum, system. The second is to equate vacuum energy with the…
Recently proposed theories based on the cosmic presence of a vectorial field are compared and contrasted. In particular the so called Einstein aether theory is discussed in parallel with a recent proposal of a strained space-time theory…
We discuss the treatment of squeezed states as excitations in the Euclidean vacuum of de Sitter space. A comparison with the treatment of these states as candidate no-particle states, or alpha-vacua, shows important differences already in…
The new phase of a gauge theory in which the instantons are ``polarized'', i.e. have the preferred orientation is discussed. A class of gauge theories with the specific condensates of the scalar fields is considered. In these models there…
A diverse set of observations now compellingly suggest that Universe possesses a nonzero cosmological constant. In the context of quantum-field theory a cosmological constant corresponds to the energy density of the vacuum, and the wanted…
All experimental evidence {indicates} that the vacuum is not void, but filled with something truly quantum. This is reflected by terms such as {zero-point} fluctuations, and Dirac's sea of virtual particle-antiparticle pairs, and last but…
The false vacuum decay has been a central theme in physics for half a century with applications to cosmology and to the theory of fundamental interactions. This fascinating phenomenon is even more intriguing when combined with the…
$\alpha$ particle condensation is a novel state in nuclear systems. We briefly review the present status on the study of $\alpha$ particle condensation and address the open problems in this research field: $\alpha$ particle condensation in…
We briefly discuss energy, normal modes and dynamics of a vortex in a trapped Bose-Einstein condensate. Theoretical results are compared with current experiments.
Searches for permanent electric dipole moments (EDMs) of fundamental particles render the possibility to discover New Physics beyond present Standard Theory. New ideas for experiments have come up recently which may allow to lower present…