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Brown Team Links Quantum Hall Effect to Tiny Cosmological Constant

6/20/2026

Summary

Story summary

Brown University researchers linked a quantum-gravity model to the quantum Hall effect, suggesting spacetime topology could curb the cosmological constant.
Stephon Alexander, Aaron Hui and Heliudson Bernardo published the proposal in Physical Review Letters and argued that topological protection could keep the constant small.
They noted that, like Hall-voltage plateaus that resist defects, a topological constraint could force the cosmological constant into discrete values.

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Story summary

Brown University researchers linked a quantum-gravity model to the quantum Hall effect, suggesting spacetime topology could curb the cosmological constant.
Stephon Alexander, Aaron Hui and Heliudson Bernardo published the proposal in Physical Review Letters and argued that topological protection could keep the constant small.
They noted that, like Hall-voltage plateaus that resist defects, a topological constraint could force the cosmological constant into discrete values.