Vacuum energy and dynamical symmetry breaking in curved spacetime

We argue that calculating vacuum energy requires quantum field theory whose axioms are adapted to curved spacetime. In this context, we suggest that non-zero vacuum energy is connected to dynamical breaking of electroweak symmetry. The observed meV scale can be understood in terms of electroweak physics via a naive estimate. The scenario requires all particle masses to have a dynamical origin. Any Higgs particle has to be a composite, and the origin of vacuum energy might be probed at the LHC.