2008/01/31 by Puneet Batra, Kurt Hinterbichler, Lam Hui +1
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Computer science #Constant (computer programming) #Constant curvature #Cosmological constant #Cosmological constant problem #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Curvature #Dark energy #Geometry #Mathematics #Particle physics #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Relativity and Gravitational Theory #Seesaw molecular geometry #String (physics) #Theoretical physics #Vacuum energy #astro-ph #gr-qc #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.78.043507
published as Phys.Rev.D78:043507,2008 · 39 pages. Appendix added. Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D
openalex publication_date 2008/08/05 · arxiv created 2008/08/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We discuss models that can account for today's dark energy. The underlying cosmological constant may be Planck scale but starts as a redundant coupling which can be eliminated by a field redefinition. The observed vacuum energy arises when the redundancy is explicitly broken, say by a nonminimal coupling to curvature. We give a recipe for constructing models, including R+1/R-type models, that realize this mechanism and satisfy all solar system constraints on gravity. A similar model, based on Gauss-Bonnet gravity, provides a technically natural explanation for dark energy and exhibits an interesting seesaw behavior: a large underlying cosmological constant gives rise to both low- and high-curvature solutions. Such models could be statistically favored in the string landscape.