  Two of the most fundamental problems at the nexus of Einstein's classical
General Relativity (GR) and Quantum Field Theory (QFT) are: (1) complete
gravitational collapse, presumed in classical GR to lead to a Black Hole (BH)
horizon and interior singularity, which generate a number of paradoxes for
quantum theory; and (2) the origin and magnitude of the cosmological dark
energy driving the accelerated expansion of the Universe.
  In this Snowmass white paper it is proposed that these twin puzzles on
disparate scales are related, and that their resolution depends upon taking
full account of the conformal anomaly of quantum matter in gravitational
fields. The topological term in the anomaly leads naturally to the introduction
of an abelian $3$-form gauge field, whose field strength can account for a
variable gravitational condensate with the vacuum dark energy equation of state
$p=-\rho$, the magnitude of which depends upon macroscopic boundary conditions
rather than ultraviolet cutoffs. The resulting Effective Field Theory (EFT) of
low energy quantum gravity results in a non-singular `BH' interior and physical
surface replacing the classical event horizon, which is a gravitational
condensate star free of any information paradox. The development and
predictions of this EFT can be tested by gravitational waves and observational
cosmology in the coming decade.
