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arXiv · 1807.01381

The quantum cosmological constant

Stephon Alexander·Joao Magueijo·Lee Smolin
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Abstract

We present an extension of general relativity in which the cosmological constant becomes dynamical and turns out to be conjugate to the Chern-Simons invariant of the Ashtekar connection on a spatial slicing. The latter has been proposed in \cite{Chopin-Lee} as a time variable for quantum gravity: the Chern-Simons time. In the quantum theory the inverse cosmological constant and Chern-Simons time will then become conjugate operators. The "Kodama state" gets a new interpretation as a family of transition functions. These results imply an uncertainty relation between $\Lambda$ and Chern-Simons time; the consequences of which will be discussed elsewhere.

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Stephon Alexander, Joao Magueijo, Lee Smolin. 2018-07-03. The quantum cosmological constant. https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.01381

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