Can effects of quantum gravity be observed in the cosmic microwave background?

Abstract

We investigate the question whether small quantum-gravitational effects can be observed in the anisotropy spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation. An observation of such an effect is needed in order to discriminate between different approaches to quantum gravity. Using canonical quantum gravity with the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, we find a suppression of power at large scales. Current observations only lead to an upper bound on the energy scale of inflation, but the framework is general enough to study other situations in which such effects might indeed be seen.

arXiv comment5 pages, 1 figure, essay awarded first prize in the Gravity Research Foundation essay competition 2012

References in corpus (6)

• Seven-Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Cosmological Interpretation
• Non-commutative inflation and the CMB
• Observational constraints on loop quantum cosmology
• Quantum Gravitational Contributions to the CMB Anisotropy Spectrum
• Observational constraints on patch inflation in noncommutative spacetime
• Inflation in string-inspired cosmology and suppression of CMB low multipoles

Cited by in corpus (18)

• Hořava Gravity at a Lifshitz Point: A Progress Report
• Quantum-gravitational effects on gauge-invariant scalar and tensor perturbations during inflation: The slow-roll approximation
• On the modification of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy spectrum from canonical quantum gravity
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• Group field theory condensate cosmology: An appetizer
• Observational effects from quantum cosmology
• Quantum cosmological consistency condition for inflation
• Dark energy from entanglement entropy
• Entanglement inside the cosmological apparent horizon
• Choice of vacuum state and the relation between inflationary and Planck scales
• Problem of Time: Facets and Machian Strategy
• Quantum Cosmology will need to become a Numerical Subject
• Classical versus quantum evolution for a universe with a positive cosmological constant
• Will quantum cosmology resurrect chaotic inflation model?
• On the appearance of time in the classical limit of quantum gravity
• Aspects of quantum gravity
• Universal horizons and Hawking radiation in nonprojectable 2d Hořava gravity coupled with a non-relativistic scalar field
• The semiclassical limit of quantum gravity and the problem of time