De Sitter vacua of strongly interacting QFT

Abstract

We use holographic correspondence to argue that Euclidean (Bunch-Davies) vacuum is a late-time attractor of the dynamical evolution of quantum gauge theories at strong coupling. The Bunch-Davies vacuum is not an adiabatic state, if the gauge theory is non-conformal — the comoving entropy production rate is nonzero. Using the N= 2 ∗ gauge theory holography, we explore prospects of explaining current accelerated expansion of the Universe as due to the vacuum energy of a strongly coupled QFT.