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On anthropic solutions of the cosmological constant problem

Tom Banks1, Michael Dine1 and Lubos Motl2

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Motivated by recent work of Bousso and Polchinski (BP), we study theories which explain the small value of the cosmological constant using the anthropic principle. We argue that simultaneous solution of the gauge hierarchy problem is a strong constraint on any such theory. We exhibit three classes of models which satisfy these constraints. The first is a version of the BP model with precisely two large dimensions. The second involves 6-branes and antibranes wrapped on supersymmetric 3-cycles of Calabi-Yau manifolds, and the third is a version of the irrational axion model. All of them have possible problems in explaining the size of microwave background fluctuations. We also find that most models of this type predict that all constants in the low energy lagrangian, as well as the gauge groups and representation content, are chosen from an ensemble and cannot be uniquely determined from the fundamental theory. In our opinion, this significantly reduces the appeal of this kind of solution of the cosmological constant problem. On the other hand, we argue that the vacuum selection problem of string theory might plausibly have an anthropic, cosmological solution.


Keywords

M-Theory

p-branes

Superstring Vacua

Cosmology of Theories beyond the SM

 

E-print Number: hep-th/0007206

Cited: by |

Refers: to

PACS

98.80.Es Observational cosmology (including Hubble constant, distance scale, cosmological constant, early Universe, etc)

11.30.Pb Supersymmetry

11.27.+d Extended classical solutions; cosmic strings, domain walls, texture

11.25.Yb M theory

12.60.-i Models beyond the standard model

Subjects

Gravitation and cosmology

Particle physics and field theory

Astrophysics and astroparticles

Dates

Issue 01 ( 1 January 2001)

Received 17 November 2000, accepted for publication 23 January 2001

Published 14 February 2001



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