The cosmological constant problem is one of the long-standing issues of modern physics. While we can measure the value of the cosmological constant with great accuracy, we are not able to calculate it in a coherent theoretical framework. On the contrary the theoretical predictions in Quantum Field Theory are radically different from observations. This disagreement is a hint of the difficult conciliation of Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity in a theory of Quantum Gravity. Current approaches to the cosmological constant problem, in particular, do not account for the quantum nature of the gravitational interaction and rely on perturbative calculations. In this thesis we address the issue in the simplified framework of two-dimensional dilaton-Maxwell gravity, coupled to scalar matter fields. In this setting we are able to quantize our model non-perturbatively in Dirac's approach to constrained systems. We determine that the realization of the classical symmetries at the quantum level provides a mechanism that fixes the value of the cosmological constant once a specific quantum state of the Universe is selected. Furthermore Quantum Gravity introduces opposite contributions to the cosmological constant, admitting a range of values compatible with current observations.
We proved that strictly stationary Einstein-Maxwell-axion-dilaton spacetime with negative cosmological constant could not support a nontrivial configuration of complex scalar fields. We considered the general case of the arbitrary number of U(1) gauge fields in the theory under consideration.
We present the cosmological analysis of the Gauss-Bonnet quasi-dilaton massive gravity theory. This offers a gravitational theory with a non-zero graviton mass. We calculate the complete set of background equations of motion. Also, we obtain the self-accelerating background solutions and we present the constraints on parameters to indicate the correct sign of parameters. In addition, we analyse tensor perturbations and calculate the mass of graviton and find the dispersion relation of gravitational waves for two cases. Finally, we investigate the propagation of gravitational perturbation in th…
Current cosmological models require the universe to be in a very smooth initial state before the onset of inflation, a situation to which Penrose ascribes a vanishingly small probability, leading to his proposal of a Conformal Cyclic Cosmology. We present an alternative paradigm, in which the Higgs plays the role of dilaton and resolves this problem by weakening gravity at very early times, thus providing a form of inflation that is compatible with observations and in which the inflaton is solidly related to tested particle physics.
The cosmological constant is treated as a thermodynamical parameter in the framework of two-dimensional dilaton gravity. We find that the cosmological constant behaves as a U(1) charge with a confining potential, and that such potentials require a novel Born-Infeld boundary term in the action. The free energy and other thermodynamical quantities of interest are derived, from first principles, in a way that is essentially model-independent. We discover that there is always a Schottky anomaly in the specific heat and explain its physical origin. Finally, we apply these results to specific exampl…
We study black hole solutions in the Einstein gravity with Gauss-Bonnet term, the dilaton and a positive "cosmological constant" in various dimensions. Physically meaningful black holes with a positive cosmological term are obtained only for those in static spacetime with $(D-2)$-dimensional hyperbolic space of negative curvature and $D>4$. We construct such black hole solutions of various masses numerically in $D=5,6$ and 10 dimensional spacetime and discuss their properties. In spite of the positive cosmological constant the spacetime approach anti-de Sitter spacetime asymptotically. The bla…
Applying a novel non-perturbative functional method framework to a two-dimensional bosonic sigma model with tachyon, dilaton and graviton backgrounds we construct exact (non perturbative in the Regge slope) inflationary solutions, consistent with world-sheet Weyl Invariance. The mechanism for inflation entails a (partial) "alignment" between tachyon and dilaton backgrounds in the solution space. Some cosmological solutions which contain inflationary eras for a short period and interpolate between flat universes in the far past and far future are also discussed. These solutions are characterize…
In the investigation and resolution of the cosmological constant problem the inclusion of the dynamics of quantum gravity can be a crucial step. In this work we suggest that the quantum constraints in a canonical theory of gravity can provide a way of addressing the issue: we consider the case of two-dimensional quantum dilaton gravity non-minimally coupled to a U(1) gauge field, in the presence of an arbitrary number of massless scalar matter fields, intended also as an effective description of highly symmetrical higher-dimensional models. We are able to quantize the system non-perturbatively…
We present novel classes of non-stationary solutions to the five-dimensional generalized Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton theory with cosmological constant, in which the Maxwell's filed and the cosmological constant couple to the dilaton field. In the first class of solutions, the two non-zero coupling constants are different while in the second class of solutions, the two coupling constants are equal to each other. We find consistent cosmological solutions with positive, negative or zero cosmological constant, where the cosmological constant depends on the value of one coupling constant in the theory…
We study Big-Bang or -Crunch cosmological singularities in 2-dimensional dilaton-gravity-scalar theories, in general obtained by dimensional reduction of higher dimensional theories. The dilaton potential encodes information about the asymptotic data defining the theories, and encompasses various families such as flat space, $AdS$, conformally $AdS$ as arising from nonconformal branes, and more general nonrelativistic theories. We find a kind of universal near singularity behaviour independent of the dilaton potential, giving universal interrelations between the exponents defining the time beh…
It is known that infrared (IR) quantum fluctuations in de Sitter space could break the de Sitter symmetry and generate time dependent observable effects. In this paper, we consider a dilaton-gravity theory. We find that gravitational IR effects lead to a time dependent shift on the vev of the dilaton and results in a screening (temporal) of the cosmological constant/Hubble parameter. In the Einstein frame, the effect is exponentiated and can give rises to a much more notable amount of screening. Taking the dilaton as inflaton, we obtain an inflationary expansion of the slow roll kind. This inf…
We present a non-supersymmetric theory with a naturally light dilaton. It is based on a 5D holographic description of a conformal theory perturbed by a close-to-marginal operator of dimension 4-epsilon, which develops a condensate. As long as the dimension of the perturbing operator remains very close to marginal (even for large couplings) a stable minimum at hierarchically small scales is achieved, where the dilaton mass squared is suppressed by epsilon. At the same time the cosmological constant in this sector is also suppressed by epsilon, and thus parametrically smaller than in a broken SU…
We investigate cosmological behavior in the quasi-Dilaton non-linear massive gravity. We perform a detailed dynamical analysis and examine the stable late-time solutions relevant to late time cosmic acceleration. We demonstrate that a dark-energy dominated, cosmological-constant-like solution is a late attractor of the dynamics. We also analyze the evolution of the universe at intermediate times, showing that the observed epoch sequence can be easily obtained in the model under consideration. Furthermore, we study the non-singular bounce and the cosmological turnaround which can be realized fo…
Scaling solutions for the effective action in dilaton quantum gravity are investigated within the functional renormalization group approach. We find numerical solutions that connect ultraviolet and infrared fixed points as the ratio between scalar field and renormalization scale $k$ is varied. In the Einstein frame the quantum effective action corresponding to the scaling solutions becomes independent of $k$. The field equations derived from this effective action can be used directly for cosmology. Scale symmetry is spontaneously broken by a non-vanishing cosmological value of the scalar field…
We report a holographic study of a two-dimensional dilaton gravity theory with the Dirichlet boundary condition for the cases of non-vanishing and vanishing cosmological constants. Our result shows that the boundary theory of the two-dimensional dilaton gravity theory with the Dirichlet boundary condition for the case of non-vanishing cosmological constants is the Schwarzian term coupled to a dilaton field, while for the case of vanishing cosmological constant, a theory does not have a kinetic term. We also include the higher derivative term $R^2$, where $R$ is the scalar curvature that is cou…
In the present paper, we revisit gravitational theories which are invariant under TDiffs -- transverse (volume preserving) diffeomorphisms and global scale transformations. It is known that these theories can be rewritten in an equivalent diffeomorphism-invariant form with an action including an integration constant (cosmological constant for the particular case of non-scale-invariant unimodular gravity). The presence of this integration constant, in general, breaks explicitly scale invariance and induces a runaway potential for the (otherwise massless) dilaton, associated with the determinant…
The chameleonic behaviour of the String theory dilaton is suggested. Some of the possible consequences of the chameleonic string dilaton are analyzed in detail. In particular, (1) we suggest a new stringy solution to the cosmological constant problem and (2) we point out the non-equivalence of different conformal frames at the quantum level. In order to obtain these results, we start taking into account the (strong coupling) string loop expansion in the string frame (S-frame), therefore the so-called form factors are present in the effective action. The correct Dark Energy scale is recovered i…
A two dimensional matter coupled model of quantum gravity is studied in the Dirac approach to constrained dynamics in the presence of a cosmological constant. It is shown that after partial fixing to the conformal gauge the requirement of a quantum realization of the conformal algebra for physical quantum states of the fields naturally constrains the cosmological constant to take values in a well determined and mostly discrete spectrum. Furthermore the contribution of the quantum fluctuations of the single dynamical degree of freedom in the gravitational sector, namely the conformal mode, to t…
