Unimodular Approaches to the Cosmological Constant Problem

Abstract

We review selected aspects of unimodular gravity and we discuss its viability as a solution of the old cosmological constant problem. In unimodular gravity, the cosmological constant is promoted to a global degree of freedom. We highlight the importance of correctly setting up its initial data in order to achieve a resolution of the cosmological constant problem on a semi-classical level. We review recent path integral analysis of quantum aspects of unimodular gravity to note that the semi-classical findings carry over to the quantum level as well. We point out that a resolution of the problem inherently relies on a global constraint on the spacetime four-volume. This makes the theory closely related to the vacuum energy sequester, which operates in a similar way. We discuss possible avenues of extending unimodular gravity that preserve the resolution of the cosmological constant problem.