2 research outputs found
One-loop f(R) gravity in de Sitter universe
Motivated by the dark energy issue, the one-loop quantization approach for a
family of relativistic cosmological theories is discussed in some detail.
Specifically, general gravity at the one-loop level in a de Sitter
universe is investigated, extending a similar program developed for the case of
pure Einstein gravity. Using generalized zeta regularization, the one-loop
effective action is explicitly obtained off-shell, what allows to study in
detail the possibility of (de)stabilization of the de Sitter background by
quantum effects. The one-loop effective action maybe useful also for the study
of constant curvature black hole nucleation rate and it provides the plausible
way of resolving the cosmological constant problem.Comment: 25 pages, Latex file. Discussion enlarged, new references added.
Version accepted in JCA
Casimir effect: running Newton constant or cosmological term
We argue that the instability of Euclidean Einstein gravity is an indication
that the vacuum is non perturbative and contains a condensate of the metric
tensor in a manner reminiscent of Yang-Mills theories. As a simple step toward
the characterization of such a vacuum the value of the one-loop effective
action is computed for Euclidean de Sitter spaces as a function of the
curvature when the unstable conformal modes are held fixed. Two phases are
found, one where the curvature is large and gravitons should be confined and
another one which appears to be weakly coupled and tends to be flat. The
induced cosmological constant is positive or negative in the strongly or weakly
curved phase, respectively. The relevance of the Casimir effect in
understanding the UV sensitivity of gravity is pointed out.Comment: Final, slightly extended version, to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravit