Nuclear, Particle, Astroparticle and Cosmology (NUPAC) Seminars
Vacuum Energy & Condensate Stars in the Effective Theory of Low Energy Gravity
Presented by Emil Mottola (UNM)
The difficulties reconciling Einstein’s classical General Relativity (GR) and quantum theory reach their apex in the twin puzzles of cosmological dark energy and black holes. Both are evidence that the gravitational sector of the Standard Model is incomplete at macroscopic distance scales. Three important ingedients are needed for resolving these puzzles. First, the cosmological constant Λ is replaced by a Maxwell-like theory of an exact 4-form abelian gauge field F=dA, whose ground state value in flat empty space is F=0 identically, independently of UV physics. Second, the conformal anomaly arising from the quantum fluctuations of massless fields implies the existence of a new light scalar field in low energy gravity. Third, the conformal anomaly of massless fermions contains a torsional contribution that produces a 3-form current source for F, which allows the vacuum energy to change. Since the lightest fermions can be treated as massless in the vicinity of a black hole horizon, Λeff ~ F2 changes abruptly there and the classical horizon is replaced by a surface boundary layer, with the interior a region with the vacuum dark energy eq. of state, p= -ρ. The resulting EFT of gravity provides a first principles framework for gravitational vacuum condensate stars, as the non-singular endpoint of gravitational collapse consistent with quantum theory, with gravitational wave signatures.
2:00 pm, Tuesday, February 20, 2024
PAIS-3205, PAIS
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