Extra Attraction Generated by Spacetime Fluctuations
arXiv:2312.06692
The paper argues that nonlinear gravitational effects cause fluctuations in spacetime curvature to produce an extra attractive force that can counterbalance the huge repulsive effect expected from vacuum energy, potentially explaining why the universe’s expansion accelerates only modestly.
Abstract
We show that, due to the nonlinear nature of gravity, fluctuations in spacetime curvature generate additional gravitational attraction. This fluctuation-induced extra attraction was overlooked in the conventional understanding of the cosmological constant problem. If the quantum vacuum of matter fields possesses positive energy and negative pressure, it would produce enormous gravitational repulsion, resulting in a catastrophic explosion of the universe -- the acceleration of the universe's expansion would exceed the observed value by some 120 orders of magnitude. We argue that such an enormous repulsion produced by the violent matter fields vacuum can be completely suppressed by the even more substantial attraction generated by the zero-point fluctuations in the spacetime curvature. As a result, the predicted catastrophic explosion of the universe is averted.
29 pages