A radical proposal for the cosmological constant problem
ORAL
Abstract
If our universe has a large cosmological constant, would we necessarily know? The obvious answer depends on an assumption of homogeneity, which may fail at the Planck scale if Λ comes from quantum fluctuations. I show that a large set of initial data describe a universe with small average expansion even with an enormous cosmological constant. Questions about time evolution remain, but it is possible that a large Λ can produce Planck scale "spacetime foam" while remaining hidden macroscopically.
*This work was funded in part by Department of Energy grant DE-FG02-91ER40674.
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Presenters
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Steven J Carlip
- University of California, Davis