A New Paradigm: From Quantum Fields to the Planck Vacuum

The current paradigm in fundamental physics assumes that Newton's gravitational constant $G$, Planck's (reduced) constant $hbar$, and the fine structure constant $alpha$ are primary constants - i.e., these constants are associated with something basic in nature and are thus not reducible to something more fundamental. This assumption leads, for example, to the conclusion that quantum fields are the fundamental building blocks out of which the visible universe is constructed.