Simulating (p)reheating after inflation via the DCE?
arXiv:1409.5454
Abstract
We note some close parallels between preheating/perturbative reheating, (p)reheating, models in post-inflationary cosmology and the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) in quantum optics. For the plasma-mirror model we show how the effective plasma mass (arising from conduction electrons) behaves like an oscillating inflaton field, while created photons behave like a scalar field coupled quadratically to the inflaton. Furthermore, the effect of spacetime expansion can also be incorporated by varying the dielectric function. We propose an experiment that could mimic (p)reheating for both narrow and broad parametric resonance, by employing technology already being used in attempts to detect DCE photons via plasma-mirrors.
arXiv comment12 pages, 3 figures, submitted to special issue on "Casimir Physics" in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter
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