The Cosmological Constant Problem, an Inspiration for New Physics

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We have critically compared different approaches to the cosmological constant problem, which is at the edge of elementary particle physics and cosmology. This problem is deeply connected with the difficulties formulating a theory of quantum gravity. After the 1998 discovery that our universe's expansion is accelerating, the cosmological constant problem has obtained a new dimension. We are mainly interested in the question why the cosmological constant is so small. We have identified four different classes of solutions: a symmetry, a back-reaction mechanism, a violation of (some of) the building blocks of general relativity, and statistical approaches. In this thesis we carefully study all known potential candidates for a solution, but conclude that so far none of the approaches gives a satisfactory solution. A symmetry would be the most elegant solution and we study a new symmetry under transformation to imaginary spacetime.