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Hiding the Cosmological Constant

S. Carlip
Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 131302 – Published 27 September 2019
Physics logo See Focus story: “Quantum Foam” Scrubs Away Gigantic Cosmic Energy

Abstract

Perhaps standard effective field theory arguments are right, and vacuum fluctuations really do generate a huge cosmological constant. I show that if one does not assume homogeneity and an arrow of time at the Planck scale, a very large class of general relativistic initial data exhibit expansions, shears, and curvatures that are enormous at small scales, but quickly average to zero macroscopically. Subsequent evolution is more complex, but I argue that quantum fluctuations may preserve these properties. The resulting picture is a version of Wheeler’s “spacetime foam,” in which the cosmological constant produces high curvature at the Planck scale but is nearly invisible at observable scales.

  • Received 20 March 2019
  • Revised 30 July 2019

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.131302

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI. Funded by SCOAP3.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics

Focus

Key Image

“Quantum Foam” Scrubs Away Gigantic Cosmic Energy

Published 27 September 2019

Theory suggests that empty space is filled with enormous energy, but according to a new proposal, this energy may be hidden because its effects cancel at the tiniest scales.

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Authors & Affiliations

S. Carlip*

  • Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA

  • *carlip@physics.ucdavis.edu

Comments & Replies

Comment on “Hiding the Cosmological Constant”

Qingdi Wang and William G. Unruh
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 089001 (2020)

Carlip Replies:

S. Carlip
Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 089002 (2020)

Article Text

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Issue

Vol. 123, Iss. 13 — 27 September 2019

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