A variable cosmological term associated with the ''bending''of the Universe is proposed.
Using a suitable ansatz on the behavior of the extrinsic curvature, we find that an initially
large Λ (t) rolls down rapidly to zero at the early stages of the Universe. In a subsequent
analysis, we construct a Lagrangian and field equations for an independent extrinsic
curvature.

The cosmological constant problem is examined under the assumption that the extrinsic
mture of the space-time contributes to the vacuum. A compensation mechanism based on a
variable cosmological term defined by the extrinsic curvature of the space-time is proposed.
Under a suitable hypothesis on the behavior of the extrinsic curvature, we find that an
initially large A (t) rolls down rapidly to zero during an early stage of the universe. Using
perturbation analysis, it is shown that such vacuum behaves essentially as a spin-2-field …