Why do we observe a small but non zero cosmological constant ?

TL;DR

The paper explores why the cosmological constant is small but non-zero, proposing a quantum microstructure model of spacetime that explains the residual value as quantum fluctuations after vacuum energy cancellation.

Contribution

It introduces a toy model of spacetime microstructure that accounts for the small residual cosmological constant through quantum readjustments.

Findings

Quantum microstructure can absorb bulk vacuum energy densities.

Residual quantum fluctuations produce a small cosmological constant.

Models based on horizon fluctuations yield the correct order of magnitude.

Abstract

The current observations seem to suggest that the universe has a positive cosmological constant of the order of $H_0^2$ while the most natural value for the cosmological constant will be $L_P^{-2}$ where $L_P = (G\hbar/c^3)^{1/2}$ is the Planck length. This reduction of the cosmological constant from $L_P^{-2} $ to $L_P^{-2}(L_PH_0)^2$ may be interpreted as due to the ability of quantum micro structure of spacetime to readjust itself and absorb bulk vacuum energy densities. Being a quantum mechanical process, such a cancellation cannot be exact and the residual quantum fluctuations appear as the ``small'' cosmological constant. I describe the features of a toy model for the spacetime micro structure which could allow for the bulk vacuum energy densities to be canceled leaving behind a small residual value of the the correct magnitude. Some other models (like the ones based on canonical ensemble for the four volume or quantum fluctuations of the horizon size) lead to an insignificantly small value of $H_0^2(L_PH_0)^n$ with $n=0.5-1$ showing that obtaining the correct order of magnitude for the residual fluctuations in the cosmological constant is a nontrivial task, becaue of the existence of the small dimensionless number $H_0L_P$ .