
What does the cosmological constant problem tell us about effective field theory?
By: Adam Koberinski In the current state of theoretical physics, there are very few clues as to what will be important in building a theory of quantum gravity. Due to the extremely high energies and exotic conditions under which both gravity and quantum effects are known to both be relevant, experimental data on quantum gravity is hard to come by. With little else to guide theoretical work, physicists have often turned to theoretical puzzles for guidance. One of the most well-known puzzles in contemporary quantum gravity research is the cosmological constant problem. This problem arises when one tries to understand the way that vacuum physics in quantum field theory will play a role in gravity. According to the standard account, matter is described by quantum field theory, and even states…