2003/03/31 by Steven B. Giddings · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Black Holes and Theoretical Physics #Classical mechanics #Context (archaeology) #Cosmological constant #Cosmology #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark energy #De Sitter space #De Sitter universe #Extra dimensions #Gravitation #Instability #Noncommutative and Quantum Gravity Theories #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Quintessence #Spacetime #String (physics) #String theory #Theoretical physics #Universe #astro-ph #gr-qc #hep-ph #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.68.026006
published as Phys.Rev. D68 (2003) 026006 · 17 pages, harvmac. v.2: minor improvements; references added
arxiv created 2003/04/21 · openalex publication_date 2003/07/28 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
In gravitational theories with extra dimensions, it is argued that the existence of a positive vacuum energy generically implies catastrophic instability of our four-dimensional world. The most generic instability is a decompactification transition to growth of the extra dimensions, although other equally bad transitions may take place. This follows from simple considerations based on the form of the potential for the size modulus of the extra dimensions, and apparently offers a resolution of the conundrums presented by eternal de Sitter space. This argument is illustrated in the context of string theory with a general discussion of potentials generated by fluxes, wrapped branes, and stringy corrections. Moreover, it is unlikely that the present acceleration of the Universe represents an ongoing transition in a quintessence scenario rolling toward decompactification, unless the higher-dimensional theory has a cosmological constant.