Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry and second-order correlations of inflaton quanta

The quantum theory of optical coherence is applied to the scrutiny of the statistical properties of the relic inflaton quanta. After adapting the description of the quantized scalar and tensor modes of the geometry to the analysis of intensity correlations, the normalized degrees of first-order and second-order coherence are computed in the concordance paradigm and are shown to encode faithfully the statistical properties of the initial quantum state. The strongly bunched curvature phonons are not only super-Poissonian but also super-chaotic. Testable inequalities are derived in the limit of large angular scales and can be physically interpreted in the light of the tenets of Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry. The quantum mechanical results are compared and contrasted with different situations including the one where intensity correlations are the result of a classical stochastic process. The survival of second-order correlations (not necessarily related to the purity of the initial quantum state) is addressed by defining a generalized ensemble where super-Poissonian statistics is an intrinsic property of the density matrix and turns out to be associated with finite volume effects which are expected to vanish in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: 42 pages, 3 included figures; corrected typos; to appear in Physical Review

Cosmological Constraints on Dissipative Models of Inflation

(Abridged) We study dissipative inflation in the regime where the dissipative term takes a specific form, \Gamma=\Gamma(\phi), analyzing two models in the weak and strong dissipative regimes with a SUSY breaking potential. After developing intuition about the predictions from these models through analytic approximations, we compute the predicted cosmological observables through full numerical evolution of the equations of motion, relating the mass scale and scale of dissipation to the characteristic amplitude and shape of the primordial power spectrum. We then use Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques to constrain a subset of the models with cosmological data from the cosmic microwave background (WMAP three-year data) and large scale structure (SDSS Luminous Red Galaxy power spectrum). We find that the posterior distributions of the dissipative parameters are highly non-Gaussian and their allowed ranges agree well with the expectations obtained using analytic approximations. In the weak regime, only the mass scale is tightly constrained; conversely, in the strong regime, only the dissipative coefficient is tightly constrained. A lower limit is seen on the inflation scale: a sub-Planckian inflaton is disfavoured by the data. In both weak and strong regimes, we reconstruct the limits on the primordial power spectrum and show that these models prefer a {\it red} spectrum, with no significant running of the index. We calculate the reheat temperature and show that the gravitino problem can be overcome with large dissipation, which in turn leads to large levels of non-Gaussianity: if dissipative inflation is to evade the gravitino problem, the predicted level of non-Gaussianity might be seen by the Planck satellite.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by JCAP without text changes, References adde

Review of scientific topics for Millimetron space observatory

This paper describes outstanding issues in astrophysics and cosmology that can be solved by astronomical observations in a broad spectral range from far infrared to millimeter wavelengths. The discussed problems related to the formation of stars and planets, galaxies and the interstellar medium, studies of black holes and the development of the cosmological model can be addressed by the planned space observatory Millimetron (the "Spectr-M" project) equipped with a cooled 10-m mirror. Millimetron can operate both as a single-dish telescope and as a part of a space-ground interferometer with very long baseline.Comment: The translation of the original article in Physics Uspekhi http://ufn.ru/ru/articles/2014/12/c

Acoustics of early universe. I. Flat versus open universe models

A simple perturbation description unique for all signs of curvature, and based on the gauge-invariant formalisms is proposed to demonstrate that: (1) The density perturbations propagate in the flat radiation-dominated universe in exactly the same way as electromagnetic or gravitational waves propagate in the epoch of the matter domination. (2) In the open universe, sounds are dispersed by curvature. The space curvature defines the minimal frequency $\omega_{\rm c}$ below which the propagation of perturbations is forbidden. Gaussian acoustic fields are considered and the curvature imprint in the perturbations spectrum is discussed.Comment: The new version extended by 2 sections. Changes in notation. Some important comments adde

Fluid phonons and inflaton quanta at the protoinflationary transition

Quantum and thermal fluctuations of an irrotational fluid are studied across the transition regime connecting a protoinflationary phase of decelerated expansion to an accelerated epoch driven by a single inflaton field. The protoinflationary inhomogeneities are suppressed when the transition to the slow roll phase occurs sharply over space-like hypersurfaces of constant energy density. If the transition is delayed, the interaction of the quasi-normal modes related, asymptotically, to fluid phonons and inflaton quanta leads to an enhancement of curvature perturbations. It is shown that the dynamics of the fluctuations across the protoinflationary boundaries is determined by the monotonicity properties of the pump fields controlling the energy transfer between the background geometry and the quasi-normal modes of the fluctuations. After corroborating the analytical arguments with explicit numerical examples, general lessons are drawn on the classification of the protoinflationary transition.Comment: 30 pages, 3 figure

Dynamics of spatially homogeneous solutions of the Einstein-Vlasov equations which are locally rotationally symmetric

The dynamics of a class of cosmological models with collisionless matter and four Killing vectors is studied in detail and compared with that of corresponding perfect fluid models. In many cases it is possible to identify asymptotic states of the spacetimes near the singularity or in a phase of unlimited expansion. Bianchi type II models show oscillatory behaviour near the initial singularity which is, however, simpler than that of the mixmaster model.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

Generalized Brans-Dicke theories

In Brans-Dicke theory a non-linear self interaction of a scalar field allows a possibility of realizing the late-time cosmic acceleration, while recovering the General Relativistic behavior at early cosmological epochs. We extend this to more general modified gravitational theories in which a de Sitter solution for dark energy exists without using a field potential. We derive a condition for the stability of the de Sitter point and study the background cosmological dynamics of such theories. We also restrict the allowed region of model parameters from the demand for the avoidance of ghosts and instabilities. A peculiar evolution of the field propagation speed allows us to distinguish those theories from the LCDM model.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, version to appear in JCA

Cosmological Perturbations with Multiple Fluids and Fields

We consider the evolution of perturbed cosmological spacetime with multiple fluids and fields in Einstein gravity. Equations are presented in gauge-ready forms, and are presented in various forms using the curvature (\Phi or \phi_\chi) and isocurvature (S_{(ij)} or \delta \phi_{(ij)}) perturbation variables in the general background with K and \Lambda. We clarify the conditions for conserved curvature and isocurvature perturbations in the large-scale limit. Evolutions of curvature perturbations in many different gauge conditions are analysed extensively. In the multi-field system we present a general solution to the linear order in slow-roll parameters.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, revised thoroughly; published version in Class. Quant. Gra