IR/UV mixing from higher-order interactions in a Scalar Field

TL;DR

This paper proposes a new quantum field theory mechanism involving higher-order interactions and UV/IR mixing that could address the cosmological constant problem without conflicting with current experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel momentum-dependent non-linear term in QFT that lowers the effective wave-vector cutoff, providing a proof-of-principle approach to the cosmological constant issue.

Findings

The theory produces a wave-vector cutoff similar to UV/IR mixing effects.

The cutoff remains at the Planck scale for typical particle physics experiments.

A specific relevant term influences the low cutoff regime.

Abstract

It is well known that the calculated cosmological constant, when regularized with a cutoff, differs hugely from the measured value. These calculations are made on the basis of a wave-vector cut-off that is usually set at the Planck scale. Further, Weinberg's no-go theorem indicates that in the presence of translational invariance, local quantum field theories cannot produce a zero cosmological constant without fine-tuning. Various non-local theories have been constructed, starting from modifications to Einstein's equations, in order to `cancel' away the cosmological constant term. There is also a well-known theory, due to Coleman, that assumes one can compute a probability distribution function for baby universes connected by wormholes that has the most probable value of the constant to be zero under some assumptions. The current paper starts from a QFT in 4-dimensions, breaks translational invariance by confining the fields to a box and adds a marginal (in power-counting terms) non-linear, momentum-dependent term that dominates the dynamics produced by the quadratic terms in the high-energy limit. It immediately produces an equation for the wave-vector cutoff applicable to the theory - the equation is reminiscent of that from UV/IR mixing and it effectively lowers the cutoff massively for a box the size of the Universe. However, as will be shown, the wave-vector cutoff for a box relevant for regular particle physics experiments is much larger, in fact, the Planck scale, so there is no conflict with current experiments, including the Casimir effect. We consider several possibilities for these additional terms and conclude that only one is relevant to a low cut-off. The paper thus introduces a proof-of-principle mechanism relevant to the cosmological constant problem. We then explore how this vacuum energy varies in time.