Related papers: Some Connections between Quantum Tunneling and Inf…
We study a toy model of a multiverse consisting of canonically quantized universes that interact with each other on a quantum level based on a field-theoretical formulation of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation. This interaction leads to the…
In the present work, we quantize a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model in the presence of a positive cosmological constant and radiation. It gives rise to a Wheeler-DeWitt equation for the scale factor which has the form of a…
We consider a multi-field open inflation model, in which one of the fields dominates quantum tunneling from a false vacuum while the other field governs slow-roll inflation within the bubble nucleated from false vacuum decay. We call the…
We consider an additional fine-tuning problem which afflicts scalar-driven models of inflation. The problem is that successful reheating requires the inflaton be coupled to ordinary matter, and quantum fluctuations of this matter induces…
The Higgs field is an attractive candidate for the inflaton because it is an observationally confirmed fundamental scalar field. Importantly, it can be modeled by the most general renormalizable scalar potential. However, if the classical…
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…
We propose a method to extract predictions from quantum cosmology for inflation that can be confronted with observations. Employing the tunneling boundary condition in quantum geometrodynamics, we derive a probability distribution for the…
If a coupling between the inflaton and the Gauss-Bonnet term is introduced, many models of inflation that were ruled out by the most recent Planck data can be made viable again. The predictions for the scalar spectral index and…
The status of quantum cosmologies as testable models of the early universe is assessed in the context of inflation. While traditional Wheeler-DeWitt quantization is unable to produce sizable effects in the cosmic microwave background, the…
We derive exact series solutions for the Wheeler-DeWitt equation corresponding to a spatially closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe with cosmological constant for arbitrary operator ordering of the scale factor of the universe. The…
We study inflection point inflation using Singularity Theory, which relates degenerate critical points of functions to their local behavior. This approach illuminates universal features of small-field models and gives analytic control over…
We study solutions of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation corresponding to an S-modular invariant N=1 supergravity model and a closed homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime. The issues of inflation and of the cosmological…
This note makes a self-contained exposition of the basic facts of big bang cosmology as they relate to inflation. The fundamental problems with that model are then explored. A quartic scalar potential model of inflation is evaluated which…
Models of cosmic inflation suggest that our universe underwent an early phase of accelerated expansion, driven by the dynamics of one or more scalar fields. Inflationary models make specific, quantitative predictions for several observable…
Quantum tunneling in Reissner-Nordstrom geometry is studied and the tunneling rate is determined. A possible scenario for cosmic inflation, followed by reheating phases and subsequent radiation-domination expansion, is proposed.
We demonstrate in the context of the minisuperspace model consisting of a closed Friedmann-Robertson-Walker universe coupled to a scalar field that Vilenkin's tunneling wavefunction can only be consistently defined for particular choices of…
This article discusses density perturbations in inflationary models, offering a pedagogical description of how these perturbations are generated by quantum fluctuations in the early universe. A key feature of inflation is that that rapid…
We consider curved space quantum corrections to the equations of motion of the inflaton field in the early Universe. Using the stochastic formalism in phase space, we demonstrate that the quantum corrected evolution of the inflaton can…
We consider cosmological inflation generated by a scalar field slowly rolling off from a de Sitter maximum of its potential. The models belong to the class of hilltop models and represent the most general model of this kind in which the…
We obtain effective equations of inflationary dynamics for the mean inflaton and metric fields in the no-boundary and tunneling quantum states of the Universe. In the slow roll approximation (taking the form of the local Schwiger-DeWitt…