5,314 research outputs found
Uncertainties of predictions in models of eternal inflation
In a previous paper \cite{MakingPredictions}, a method of comparing the
volumes of thermalized regions in eternally inflating universe was introduced.
In this paper, we investigate the dependence of the results obtained through
that method on the choice of the time variable and factor ordering in the
diffusion equation that describes the evolution of eternally inflating
universes. It is shown, both analytically and numerically, that the variation
of the results due to factor ordering ambiguity inherent in the model is of the
same order as their variation due to the choice of the time variable.
Therefore, the results are, within their accuracy, free of the spurious
dependence on the time parametrization.Comment: 30 pages, RevTeX, figure included, added some references and Comments
on recent proposal (gr-qc/9511058) of alternative regularization schemes, to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Predictability crisis in inflationary cosmology and its resolution
Models of inflationary cosmology can lead to variation of observable
parameters ("constants of Nature") on extremely large scales. The question of
making probabilistic predictions for today's observables in such models has
been investigated in the literature. Because of the infinite thermalized volume
resulting from eternal inflation, it has proven difficult to obtain a
meaningful and unambiguous probability distribution for observables, in
particular due to the gauge dependence. In the present paper, we further
develop the gauge-invariant procedure proposed in a previous work for models
with a continuous variation of "constants". The recipe uses an unbiased
selection of a connected piece of the thermalized volume as sample for the
probability distribution. To implement the procedure numerically, we develop
two methods applicable to a reasonably wide class of models: one based on the
Fokker-Planck equation of stochastic inflation, and the other based on direct
simulation of inflationary spacetime. We present and compare results obtained
using these methods.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure
Chaotic behavior in a Z_2 x Z_2 field theory
We investigate the presence of chaos in a system of two real scalar fields
with discrete Z_2 x Z_2 symmetry. The potential that identify the system is
defined with a real parameter r and presents distinct features for r>0 and for
r<0. For static field configurations, the system supports two topological
sectors for r>0, and only one for r<0. Under the assumption of spatially
homogeneous fields, the system exhibts chaotic behavior almost everywhere in
parameter space. In particular a more complex dynamics appears for r>0; in this
case chaos can decrease for increasing energy, a fact that is absent for r<0.Comment: Revtex, 13 pages, no figures. Version with figures in Int. J. Mod.
Phys. A14 (1999) 496
Corrections to the apparent value of the cosmological constant due to local inhomogeneities
Supernovae observations strongly support the presence of a cosmological
constant, but its value, which we will call apparent, is normally determined
assuming that the Universe can be accurately described by a homogeneous model.
Even in the presence of a cosmological constant we cannot exclude nevertheless
the presence of a small local inhomogeneity which could affect the apparent
value of the cosmological constant. Neglecting the presence of the
inhomogeneity can in fact introduce a systematic misinterpretation of
cosmological data, leading to the distinction between an apparent and true
value of the cosmological constant. We establish the theoretical framework to
calculate the corrections to the apparent value of the cosmological constant by
modeling the local inhomogeneity with a solution. Our assumption
to be at the center of a spherically symmetric inhomogeneous matter
distribution correspond to effectively calculate the monopole contribution of
the large scale inhomogeneities surrounding us, which we expect to be the
dominant one, because of other observations supporting a high level of isotropy
of the Universe around us.
By performing a local Taylor expansion we analyze the number of independent
degrees of freedom which determine the local shape of the inhomogeneity, and
consider the issue of central smoothness, showing how the same correction can
correspond to different inhomogeneity profiles. Contrary to previous attempts
to fit data using large void models our approach is quite general. The
correction to the apparent value of the cosmological constant is in fact
present for local inhomogeneities of any size, and should always be taken
appropriately into account both theoretically and observationally.Comment: 16 pages,new sections added analyzing central smoothness and accuracy
of the Taylor expansion approach, Accepted for publication by JCAP. An essay
based on this paper received honorable mention in the 2011 Essay Context of
the Gravity Research Foundatio
Elliptic Inflation: Generating the curvature perturbation without slow-roll
There are many inflationary models in which inflaton field does not satisfy
the slow-roll condition. However, in such models, it is always difficult to
generate the curvature perturbation during inflation. Thus, to generate the
curvature perturbation, one must introduce another component to the theory. To
cite a case, curvatons may generate dominant part of the curvature perturbation
after inflation. However, we have a question whether it is unrealistic to
consider the generation of the curvature perturbation during inflation without
slow-roll. Assuming multi-field inflation, we encounter the generation of the
curvature perturbation during inflation without slow-roll. The potential along
equipotential surface is flat by definition and thus we do not have to worry
about symmetry. We also discuss about KKLT models, in which corrections lifting
the inflationary direction may not become a serious problem if there is a
symmetry enhancement at the tip (not at the moving brane) of the inflationary
throat.Comment: 27pages, 8figures, to appear in JCA
The N-Tachyon Assisted Inflation
In continuation of the papers hep-th/0505012 and hep-th/0508101 we
investigate the consequences when open-string tachyons roll down
simultaneously. We demonstrate that the -Tachyon system coupled to gravity
does indeed give rise to the assisted slow-roll inflation.Comment: 12 pages; v2: minor correction in eq.15 and a note added; v3: mix-up
of convention corrected in sec.3, small change in result
On the Theory of Fermionic Preheating
In inflationary cosmology, the particles constituting the Universe are
created after inflation due to their interaction with moving inflaton field(s)
in the process of preheating. In the fermionic sector, the leading channel is
out-of equilibrium particle production in the non-perturbative regime of
parametric excitation, which respects Pauli blocking but differs significantly
from the perturbative expectation. We develop theory of fermionic preheating
coupling to the inflaton, without and with expansion of the universe, for light
and massive fermions, to calculate analytically the occupation number of
created fermions, focusing on their spectra and time evolution. In the case of
large resonant parameter we extend for rermions the method of successive
parabolic scattering, earlier developed for bosonic preheating. In an expanding
universe parametric excitation of fermions is stochastic. Created fermions very
quickly, within tens of inflaton oscillations, fill up a sphere of radius
in monetum space. We extend our formalism to the production of
superheavy fermions and to `instant' fermion creation.Comment: 14 pages, latex, 12 figures, submitted for publicatio
Recycling universe
If the effective cosmological constant is non-zero, our observable universe
may enter a stage of exponential expansion. In such case, regions of it may
tunnel back to the false vacuum of an inflaton scalar field, and inflation with
a high expansion rate may resume in those regions. An ``ideal'' eternal
observer would then witness an infinite succession of cycles from false vacuum
to true, and back. Within each cycle, the entire history of a hot universe
would be replayed. If there were several minima of the inflaton potential, our
ideal observer would visit each one of these minima with a frequency which
depends on the shape of the potential. We generalize the formalism of
stochastic inflation to analyze the global structure of the universe when this
`recycling' process is taken into account.Comment: 43 pages, 10 figure
Predictions from Quantum Cosmology
The world view suggested by quantum cosmology is that inflating universes
with all possible values of the fundamental constants are spontaneously created
out of nothing. I explore the consequences of the assumption that we are a
`typical' civilization living in this metauniverse. The conclusions include
inflation with an extremely flat potential and low thermalization temperature,
structure formation by topological defects, and an appreciable cosmological
constant.Comment: (revised version), 15 page
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