Vacuum Instability

Abstract

Following fresh attempts to resolve the problem of the energy density of the vacuum, we reconsider the case where the cosmological constant is derived from a higher-dimensional version of general relativity, and interpret the gauge-dependence of $Λ$ as a dynamical effect. This leads to a relation between the change in $Λ$ and the line element (action) which is independent of gauge choices and fundamental constants: $dΛds^{2}=-3$. This implies that the (classical) vacuum is unstable, with implications for particle production.