Inflationary schism after Planck2013

Classic inflation, the theory described in textbooks, is based on the idea that, beginning from typical initial conditions and assuming a simple inflaton potential with a minimum of fine-tuning, inflation can create exponentially large volumes of space that are generically homogeneous, isotropic and flat, with nearly scale-invariant spectra of density and gravitational wave fluctuations that are adiabatic, Gaussian and have generic predictable properties. In a recent paper, we showed that, in addition to having certain conceptual problems known for decades, classic inflation is for the first time also disfavored by data, specifically the most recent data from WMAP, ACT and Planck2013. Guth, Kaiser and Nomura and Linde have each recently published critiques of our paper, but, as made clear here, we all agree about one thing: the problematic state of classic inflation. Instead, they describe an alternative inflationary paradigm that revises the assumptions and goals of inflation, and perhaps of science generally.Comment: 7 pages, 2 table

The Dreamers

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Neurocognitive bases of future oriented cognition

In recent decades, the importance of future oriented processing across different cognitive domains and timescales has been recognized. The underlying neural mechanisms of these processes have been explored, resulting in findings that have associated predictive processing with the functioning of different brain regions and neural systems. However, although individual incarnations of future oriented processing within cognitive domains have been meticulously investigated and described, a unified approach that would summarize and compare such processes across domains is still lacking. The present review succinctly describes future oriented cognitive processes across different psychological domains and discusses their underlying neural mechanisms. In doing so, it examines the manifestations and beneficial aspects of future orientation in perception, motor behavior, attention, and higher order cognition as well as in emotional and motivational processing. In addition, the importance of future orientation for self-referential processing is evaluated and novel insights are offered into some of the critical questions that remain to be elucidated in future research within this field

Casimir interactions in Ising strips with boundary fields: exact results

An exact statistical mechanical derivation is given of the critical Casimir forces for Ising strips with arbitrary surface fields applied to edges. Our results show that the strength as well as the sign of the force can be controled by varying the temperature or the fields. An interpretation of the results is given in terms of a linked cluster expansion. This suggests a systematic approach for deriving the critical Casimir force which can be used in more general models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure