Consistent NEC-violation: towards creating a universe in the laboratory

Abstract

Null Energy Condition (NEC) can be violated in a consistent way in models with unconventional kinetic terms, notably, in Galileon theories and their generalizations. We make use of one of these, the scale-invariant kinetic braiding model, to discuss whether a universe can in principle be created by man-made processes. We find that even though the simplest models of this sort can have both healthy Minkowski vacuum and consistent NEC-violating phase, there is an obstruction for creating a universe in a straightforward fashion. To get around this obstruction, we design a more complicated model, and present a scenario for the creation of a universe in the laboratory.

Journal version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Minor changes

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• From Satisfying to Violating the Null Energy Condition
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• Generalized Galilean Genesis
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• Primordial non-Gaussianity from Galilean Genesis without strong coupling problem
• Dark matter and baryogenesis in the Fermi-bounce curvaton mechanism
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• AdS cycles in eternally inflating background
• The nucleation of false vacuum bubbles with compact geometries
• Conformal Invariance for a Class of Scale Invariant Theories in Four Dimensions
• No Net Charge Separation in Hot QCD in a Magnetic Field
• Cosmic acceleration from string induced Galileons