Discrete Spectrum of Inflationary Fluctuations

Abstract

It is conjectured that inflation, taking account of quantum gravity, leads to a discrete spectrum of cosmological perturbations, instead of the continuous Gaussian spectrum predicted by standard field theory in an unquantized background. Heuristic models of discrete spectra are discussed, based on an inflaton mode with self gravity, a lattice of amplitude states, an entangled ensemble of modes, and the holographic or covariant entropy bound. Estimates are given for the discreteness observable in cosmic background anisotropy, galaxy clustering, and gravitational wave backgrounds.

arXiv comment9 pages, LaTex, submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Discussion shortened, notation changed, references updated

References in corpus (39)

• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Determination of Cosmological Parameters
• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Preliminary Maps and Basic Results
• The World as a Hologram
• Non-Gaussian features of primordial fluctuations in single field inflationary models
• Particle Physics Models of Inflation and the Cosmological Density Perturbation
• The 3D power spectrum of galaxies from the SDSS
• The holographic principle
• The Stretched Horizon and Black Hole Complementarity
• A Covariant Entropy Conjecture
• The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: The power spectrum and the matter content of the universe
• The Trans-Planckian Problem of Inflationary Cosmology
• Asymmetries in the CMB anisotropy field
• First Year Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Observations: Tests of Gaussianity
• Semiclassicality and Decoherence of Cosmological Perturbations
• The significance of the largest scale CMB fluctuations in WMAP
• Dodecahedral space topology as an explanation for weak wide-angle temperature correlations in the cosmic microwave background
• Black Hole Evaporation without Information Loss
• Suppressing the lower Multipoles in the CMB Anisotropies
• Inflation and squeezed quantum states
• The Robustness of Inflation to Changes in Super-Planck-Scale Physics
• Inflation as a Probe of Short Distance Physics
• Quantum-to-classical transition for fluctuations in the early Universe
• Inflation and de Sitter Thermodynamics
• Inflation with a Planck-scale frequency cutoff
• Constraining the Topology of the Universe
• The Holographic Principle
• Robustness of the inflationary perturbation spectrum to trans-Planckian physics
• Quantum-to-classical Transition of Cosmological Perturbations for Non-vacuum Initial States
• Does the small CMB quadrupole moment suggest new physics?
• Double Inflation and the Low CMB Quadrupole
• Quantum Effects In Cosmology
• TASI lectures on the Holographic Principle
• Estimating Stochastic Gravitational Wave Backgrounds with Sagnac Calibration
• Short Distance Physics and the Consistency Relation for Scalar and Tensor Fluctuations in the Inflationary Universe
• What Can WMAP Tell Us About The Very Early Universe? New Physics as an Explanation of Suppressed Large Scale Power and Running Spectral Index
• Holographic Discreteness of Inflationary Perturbations
• Building blocks of a black hole
• Holographic Limitations of the Effective Field Theory of Inflation
• Properties of groups of galaxies in the vicinity of massive clusters

Cited by in corpus (9)

• A CMB/Dark Energy Cosmic Duality
• CMB multipole measurements in the presence of foregrounds
• CMB quadrupole suppression: I. Initial conditions of inflationary perturbations
• Nonlocal Entanglement and Directional Correlations of Primordial Perturbations on the Inflationary Horizon
• Angular correlations of causally-coherent primordial quantum perturbations
• Pattern of perturbations from a coherent quantum inflationary horizon
• A not so brief commentary on cosmological entropy bounds
• Gravity from a Modified Commutator
• A New Spin on Quantum Gravity