Wormholes, Void Bubbles and Vacuum Energy Suppression
arXiv:0705.1716 · doi:10.1088/0264-9381/24/13/006
Abstract
The gargantuan discrepancy between the value of the observed cosmological constant and that expected from the zero-point energy of known matter fields can be eliminated by supposing that on macroscopic scales the overwhelming majority of any volume of spacetime is literal nothingness. This nothingness or void results from the proliferative nucleation of tiny void bubbles (a.k.a. "bubbles of nothing" or "semi wormholes") that expand until their surfaces, presumed to be 2-branes, collide. This process results in a dense packing of void bubbles of various sizes that leaves only the vanishing interstitial regions between bubbles for spacetime to occupy. This vast reduction in the amount of actual space contained within any apparent volume, reduces correspondingly the effective zero-point energy density. Unlike previous wormhole-based attempts at vacuum energy suppression, the current approach is entirely Lorentzian and results in a nonzero value for the cosmological constant.
Accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravity
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