Cosmological constant problem: deflation during inflation
Felipe Canales, Benjamin Koch, Cristobal Laporte, Ángel Rincón
Abstract
We argue that the discrepancy between the Planck mass scale and the observed value of the cosmological constant can be largely attenuated if those quantities are understood as a result of effective, and thus scale-dependent, couplings. We exemplify this mechanism for the early inflationary epoch of the universe by solving the corresponding effective gap equations, subject to an energy condition. Several non-trivial checks and extensions are discussed. A comparison of our results to the renormalization group flow, obtained within the asymptotic safety program reveals a stunning agreement.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsInflation (cosmology)Inflationary epochCosmological constantEpoch (astronomy)Constant (computer programming)Theoretical physicsPlanckCosmologyDeflationScale (ratio)RenormalizationPlanck massRenormalization groupMechanism (biology)Functional renormalization groupMetric expansion of spaceLambda-CDM modelCosmological perturbation theoryStatistical physicsQuantum electrodynamicsClassical mechanicsMathematical physicsUniverseNon-GaussianityScale factor (cosmology)Eternal inflationAsymptotic safety in quantum gravityCosmology and Gravitation TheoriesNoncommutative and Quantum Gravity TheoriesParticle physics theoretical and experimental studies