Mass of the Dilaton and the Cosmological Constant

One might raise the question if the gravitational scalar field (dilaton) mediates a finite-range force between local objects that behaves globally like a massless field in conformity with the scenario of a decaying cosmological constant. We obtain a non-negative answer to this question by carrying out a detailed analysis of the field-theoretical quantization procedure taking into account the observationally required suppression of the vacuum energy which constitutes a part of the cosmological constant.