# Cosmological constant problem: deflation during inflation

## TL;DR

This paper proposes a scale-dependent coupling mechanism to address the cosmological constant problem, demonstrating its effectiveness during inflation and showing agreement with asymptotic safety predictions.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using effective, scale-dependent couplings to mitigate the cosmological constant discrepancy during inflation.

## Key findings

- Effective gap equations support the scale-dependent coupling mechanism.
- Results align with predictions from the asymptotic safety program.
- The approach offers a new perspective on the cosmological constant problem.

## Abstract

We argue that the discrepancy between the Planck mass scale and the observed value of the cosmological constant can be largely attenuated if those quantities are understood as a result of effective, and thus scale-dependent, couplings. We exemplify this mechanism for the early inflationary epoch of the universe by solving the corresponding effective gap equations, subject to an energy condition. Several non-trivial checks and extensions are discussed. A comparison of our results to the renormalization group flow, obtained within the asymptotic safety program reveals a stunning agreement.