Related papers: Quantum fluctuations and semiclassicality in an in…
For simple inflationary models, we provide a consistent and complete scheme by which the macro-physical details of early universe inflation may be determined explicitly from the underlying micro-physical theory. We examine inflationary…
Based on the conventional metric tensor and driven by a nearly constant energy density, cosmic inflation, characterized by a remarkably accelerated expansion, was proposed as an early epoch in the Universe. The energy density is typically…
We study the evolution of quantum fluctuations of a scalar field which is coupled to the geometry, in an exponentially expanding universe. We derive an expression for the spectrum of intrinsic perturbations, and it is shown that the…
The process of quantum creation of a qusihomogeneous inflationary universe near a cosmological singularity is considered. It is shown that during the evolution quantum fluctuations of spatial topologies increase and the universe acquires…
We study the evolution of cosmological perturbations on large scales, up to second order, for a perfect fluid with generic equation of state. Taking advantage of super-horizon conservation laws, it is possible to follow the evolution of the…
The semiclassical approximation has frequently been used to describe the initial stage of particle production, often called preheating, which occurs after the inflationary epoch in chaotic models of inflation. During this phase backreaction…
Inflation is most often described using quantum field theory (QFT) on a fixed, curved spacetime background. Such a description is valid only if the spatial volume of the region considered is so large that its size and shape moduli behave…
One possible description of the very early stages of the evolution of the universe is provided by Chaotic Inflationary Cosmology. For that model the role of the inflaton field is played by quantum gravitational effects. We study if such a…
Possibly, the most general action in the background of isotropic and homogeneous space-time has been considered to study the quantum evolution of the early universe, apart from a cosmological constant. The hermiticity of the effective…
The theory of cosmological fluctuations assumes that the pre-inflationary state of the universe was the quantum vacuum of a scalar field(s) coupled to gravity. The observed cosmic microwave background fluctuations are then interpreted as…
The description of the universe evolving in time according to general relativity is given in comparison with the quantum description of the same universe in terms of semiclassical wave functions. The spacetime geometry is determined by the…
Cosmic inflation is commonly assumed to be driven by quantum fields. Quantum mechanics predicts phenomena such as quantum fluctuations and tunneling of the field. Here we show an example of a quantum interference effect which goes beyond…
Inflation models can have an early phase of inflation where the evolution of the inflaton is driven by quantum fluctuations before entering the phase driven by the slope of the scalar field potential. For a Coleman-Weinberg potential this…
Observations of the cosmic microwave sky are revealing the primordial non-uniformities from which all structure in the Universe grew. The only known physical mechanism for generating the inhomogeneities we see involves the amplification of…
These lectures are intended to give a pedagogical introduction to the main current picture of the very early universe. After elementary reviews of general relativity and of the standard Big Bang model, the following subjects are discussed:…
The inflationary and pre-inflationary evolution of scalar modes of cosmological perturbations in a closed universe is analyzed for a loop quantum cosmology model with an inflationary regime consistent with the constraints on inflation…
The properties of the quantum universe on extremely small spacetime scales are studied in the semi-classical approach to the well-defined quantum model. It is shown that near the initial cosmological singularity point quantum gravity…
In the context of canonical quantum gravity, we consider the effects of a non-standard expression for the gravitational wave function on the evolution of inflationary perturbations. Such an expression and its effects may be generated by a…
The standard inflationary version of the origin of the cosmic structure as the result of the quantum fluctuations during the inflationary stage is less than fully satisfactory: how exactly does the Universe transit from a homogeneous and…
Quantum geometry predicts that a universe evolves through an inflationary phase at small volume before exiting gracefully into a standard Friedmann phase. This does not require the introduction of additional matter fields with ad hoc…