In N=1 supergravity supersymmetric (SUSY) and non-supersymmetric Minkowski vacua originating in the hidden sector can be degenerate. In the supersymmetric phase in flat Minkowski space non-perturbative supersymmetry breakdown may take place in the observable sector, inducing a non-zero and positive vacuum energy density. Assuming that such a supersymmetric phase and the phase in which we live are degenerate, we estimate the value of the cosmological constant. We argue that the observed value of the dark energy density can be reproduced in the Split-SUSY scenario of the supersymmetry breaking if the SUSY breaking scale is of order of 10^{10} GeV.
It is well known that global symmetries protect local supersymmetry and a zero value for the cosmological constant in no--scale supergravity. The breakdown of these symmetries, which ensure the vanishing of the vacuum energy density, results in a set of degenerate vacua with broken and unbroken supersymmetry leading to the natural realisation of the multiple point principle (MPP). Assuming the degeneracy of vacua with broken and unbroken SUSY in the hidden sector we estimate the value of the cosmological constant. We argue that the observed value of the dark energy density can be reproduced in the split-SUSY scenario if the SUSY breaking scale is of the order of 10^{10} GeV.
In N=1 supergravity the tree-level scalar potential of the hidden sector may have a minimum with broken local supersymmetry (SUSY) as well as a supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum. These vacua can be degenerate, allowing for a consistent implementation of the multiple point principle. The first minimum where SUSY is broken can be identified with the physical phase in which we live. In the second supersymmetric phase, in flat Minkowski space, SUSY may be broken dynamically either in the observable or in the hidden sectors inducing a tiny vacuum energy density. We argue that the exact degeneracy of these phases may shed light on the smallness of the cosmological constant. Other possible phenomenological implications are also discussed. In particular, we point out that the presence of such degenerate vacua may lead to small values of the quartic Higgs coupling and its beta function at the Planck scale in the physical phase.
We argue that the exact degeneracy of vacua in N=1 supergravity can shed light on the smallness of the cosmological constant. The presence of such vacua, which are degenerate to very high accuracy, may also result in small values of the quartic Higgs coupling and its beta function at the Planck scale in the phase in which we live.
In this paper we revisit the dynamical dark energy model building based on single scalar field involving higher derivative terms. By imposing a degenerate condition on the higher derivatives in curved spacetime, one can select the models which are free from the ghost mode and the equation of state is able to cross the cosmological constant boundary smoothly, dynamically violate the null energy condition. Generally the Lagrangian of this type of dark energy models depends on the second derivatives linearly. It behaves like an imperfect fluid, thus its cosmological perturbation theory needs to be generalized. We also study such a model with explicit form of degenerate Lagrangian and show that its equation of state may cross -1 without any instability.
We discuss the possibility to construct supergravity models with a single superfield describing inflation as well as the tiny cosmological constant $V sim 10^{{-120}}$. One could expect that the simplest way to do it is to study models with a supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum and then slightly uplift them. However, due to the recently proven no-go theorem, such a tiny uplifting cannot be achieved by a small modification of the parameters of the theory. We illustrate this general result by investigation of models with a single chiral superfield recently proposed by Ketov and Terada. We show that the addition of a small constant or a linear term to the superpotential of a model with a stable supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum converts it to an AdS vacuum, which results in a rapid cosmological collapse. One can avoid this problem and uplift a supersymmetric Minkowski vacuum to a dS vacuum with $V_{0}sim 10^{-120}$ without violating the no-go theorem by making these extra terms large enough. However, we show that this leads to a strong supersymmetry breaking in the uplifted vacua.