The Cosmological Constant Problem in Scalar Gravity

Speaker: Prateek Agrawal

I will discuss a toy theory of gravity where the gravitational force is mediated by a scalar particle. This theory can be understood as the low-energy limit of a spontaneously broken Conformal Field Theory, and serves as an intriguing analog to General Relativity, capturing many qualitative features. In fact, it exhibits a fine-tuning problem closely resembling the cosmological constant problem. A solution to this cosmological constant problem in scalar gravity has been proposed. I will discuss an explicit realization of this solution and its connections with the cosmological constant problem in our universe.