Λ and the Limits of Effective Field Theory.
The cosmological constant problem stems from treating quantum field theory and general relativity as an effective field theory (EFT). We argue that the problem is a reduction ad absurdum and that one should reject the assumption that general relativity can generically be treated as an EFT. This mark...
| Publicado en: | Philosophy of Science Vol. 90; no. 2; pp. 454 - 475 |
|---|---|
| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Cambridge University Press
Apr2023
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | The cosmological constant problem stems from treating quantum field theory and general relativity as an effective field theory (EFT). We argue that the problem is a reduction ad absurdum and that one should reject the assumption that general relativity can generically be treated as an EFT. This marks a failure of naturalness and provides an internal signal that EFT methods do not apply in all spacetime domains. We then take an external view, showing that the assumptions for using EFTs are violated in general relativistic domains where Λ is relevant. We highlight some ways forward that do not depend on naturalness. |
|---|