Brane supersymmetry breaking and the cosmological constant: open problems

It has recently been argued that non-BPS brane world scenarios can reproduce the small value of the cosmological constant that seems to have been measured. Objections against this proposal are discussed and necessary (but not sufficient) conditions are stated under which it may work. At least n = 2 extra dimensions are needed. Also, the mass matrix in the supergravity sector must satisfy Str M-2 = 0. Moreover, the proposal can be ruled out experimentally if Newton's constant remains unchanged down to scales of 10 mum. If, on the other hand, such a "running Newton constant" is observed, it could provide crucial experimental input for superstring phenomenology. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.