Small Dark Energy Research Articles

Small dark energy and stable vacuum from Dilaton\u2013Gauss\u2013Bonnet coupling in TMT

In two measures theories (TMT), in addition to the Riemannian measure of integration, being the square root of the determinant of the metric, we introduce a metric-independent density Phi in four dimensions defined in terms of scalars varphi _a by Phi =varepsilon ^{mu nu rho sigma } varepsilon _{abcd} (partial _{mu }varphi _a)(partial _{nu }varphi _b) (partial _{rho }varphi _c) (partial _{sigma }varphi _d). With the help of a dilaton field phi we construct theories that are globally scale invariant. In particular, by introducing couplings of the dilaton phi to the Gauss–Bonnet (GB) topological density , {sqrt{-g}} , phi left( R_{mu nu rho sigma }^2 - 4 R_{mu nu }^2 + R^2 right) , we obtain a theory that is scale invariant up to a total divergence. Integration of the varphi _a field equation leads to an integration constant that breaks the global scale symmetry. We discuss the stabilizing effects of the coupling of the dilaton to the GB-topological density on the vacua with a very small cosmological constant and the resolution of the ‘TMT Vacuum-Manifold Problem’ which exists in the zero cosmological-constant vacuum limit. This problem generically arises from an effective potential that is a perfect square, and it gives rise to a vacuum manifold instead of a unique vacuum solution in the presence of many different scalars, like the dilaton, the Higgs, etc. In the non-zero cosmological-constant case this problem disappears. Furthermore, the GB coupling to the dilaton eliminates flat directions in the effective potential, and it totally lifts the vacuum-manifold degeneracy.

Modeling the small dark energy scale with a quintessential pseudoscalar boson

Democracy among the same type of particles is a useful paradigm in studying masses and interactions of particles with supersymmetry(SUSY) or without SUSY. This simple idea predicts the presence of massless particles. We attempt to use one of these massless pseudoscalar particles as generating the cosmological dark energy(DE) potential. To achieve the extremely shallow potential of DE, the pseudoscalar boson is required not to couple to the QCD anomaly. So, we consider two pseudoscalars, one coupling to the QCD anomaly (i.e. QCD axion) and the other not coupling to the QCD anomaly. To obtain these two pseudoscalars, we introduce two approximate global U(1) symmetries to realize them as the pseudo-Goldstone bosons of the spontaneously broken U(1)'s. These global symmetries are dictated by a gravity respected discrete symmetry. Specifically, we consider an S2(L) X S2(R) X Z(10R) example, and attempt to obtain the DE scale in terms of two observed fundamental mass scales, the grand unification scale M(G) and the electroweak scale v(ew).

Natural quintessence in string theory

We introduce a natural model of quintessence in string theory where the light rolling scalar is radiatively stable and couples to Standard Model matter with weaker-than-Planckian strength. The model is embedded in an anisotropic type IIB compactification with two exponentially large extra dimensions and TeV-scale gravity. The bulk turns out to be nearly supersymmetric since the scale of the gravitino mass is of the order of the observed value of the cosmological constant. The quintessence field is a modulus parameterising the size of an internal four-cycle which naturally develops a potential of the order (gravitino mass)4, leading to a small dark energy scale without tunings. The mass of the quintessence field is also radiatively stable since it is protected by supersymmetry in the bulk. Moreover, this light scalar couples to ordinary matter via its mixing with the volume mode. Due to the fact that the quintessence field is a flat direction at leading order, this mixing is very small, resulting in a suppressed coupling to Standard Model particles which avoids stringent fifth-force constraints. On the other hand, if dark matter is realised in terms of Kaluza-Klein states, unsuppressed couplings between dark energy and dark matter can emerge, leading to a scenario of coupled quintessence within string theory. We study the dynamics of quintessence in our set-up, showing that its main features make it compatible with observations.

Accelerating the universe with gravitational waves

Inflation generically produces primordial gravitational waves with a red spectral tilt. In this paper we calculate the backreaction produced by these gravitational waves on the expansion of the universe. We find that in radiation domination the backreaction acts as a relativistic fluid, while in matter domination a small dark energy emerges with an equation of state weff ≈ −8/9.

Towards resolution of hierarchy problems in a cosmological context

A cosmological scenario is proposed, which simultaneously solves the mass hierarchy and the small dark energy problem. In the present scenario an effective gravity mass scale (inverse of the Newton's constant) increases during the inflationary period. The small cosmological constant or the dark energy density in the present universe is dynamically realized by introducing two, approximately O(2) symmetric dilatons, taking the fundamental mass scale at TeV.