We show how to provide suitable gauge invariant prescriptions for the classical spatial averages (resp. quantum expectation values) that are needed in the evaluation of classical (resp. quantum) backreaction effects. We also present examples illustrating how the use of gauge invariant prescriptions can avoid interpretation problems and prevent misleading conclusions.
The subject of cosmological backreaction in General Relativity is often approached by coordinate-dependent and metric-based analyses. We present in this letter an averaging formalism for the scalar parts of Einstein's equations that is coordinate-independent and only functionally depends on a metric. This formalism is applicable to general 3+1 foliations of spacetime for an arbitrary fluid with tilted flow. We clarify the dependence on spacetime foliation and argue that this dependence is weak in cosmological settings. We also introduce a new set of averaged equations that feature a global cos…
We calculate a general effective stress-energy tensor induced by cosmological inhomogeneity in effective theories of gravity where the action is Taylor-expandable in the Riemann tensor and covariant derivatives of the Riemann tensor. This is of interest as an effective fluid that might provide an alternative to the cosmological constant, but it also applies to gravitational waves. We use an adaptation of Green and Wald's weak-averaging framework, which averages over perturbations in the field equation where the perturbation length scales are small compared to the averaging scale. In this adapt…
We consider a theory of $N$ self-interacting quantum scalar fields with quartic $O(N)$-symmetric potential, with a coupling constant $λ$, in a generic curved spacetime. We analyze the renormalization process of the Semiclassical Einstein Equations at leading order in the $1/N$ expansion for different renormailzation schemes, namely: the traditional one that sets the geometry of the spacetime to be Minkowski at the renormalization point, and new schemes (originally proposed in [1,2]) which set the geometry to be that of a fixed de Sitter spacetime. In particular, we study the quantum backreacti…
Canonical methods of quasiclassical dynamics make it possible to go beyond a strict background approximation for cosmological perturbations by including independent fields such as correlation degrees of freedom. New models are introduced and analyzed here for cosmological dynamics in the presence of quantum correlations between background and perturbations, as well as cross-correlations between different modes of a quantum field. Evolution equations for moments of a perturbation state reveal conditions required for inhomogeneity to build up out of an initial vacuum. A crucial role is played by…
A persistent theme in the study of dark energy is the question of whether it really exists or not. It is often claimed hat we are mis-calculating the cosmological model by neglecting the effects associated with averaging over large-scale structures. In the Newtonian approximation this is clear: there is no effect. Within the full relativistic picture this remains an important open question however, owing to the complex mathematics involved. We study this issue using particle numerical simulations which account for all relevant relativistic effects without any problems from shell crossing. In t…
Constructing an extension of Newton's theory which is defined on a non-Euclidean topology (in the sense of Thurston's decomposition), called a non-Euclidean Newtonian theory, corresponding to the zeroth order of a non-relativistic limit of general relativity is an important step in the study of the backreaction problem in cosmology and might be a powerful tool to study the influence of global topology on structure formation. After giving a precise mathematical definition of such a theory, based on the concept of Galilean manifolds, we propose two such extensions, for spherical or hyperbolic to…
This is the fourth paper in a series of four in which we use space adiabatic methods in order to incorporate backreactions among the homogeneous and between the homogeneous and inhomogeneous degrees of freedom in quantum cosmological perturbation theory. In this paper, we finally consider the gauge invariant scalar (Mukhanov-Sasaki) and tensor (primordial gravitational wave) inhomogeneous perturbations of General Relativity coupled to an inflaton field which arise from a careful constraint analysis of this system up to second order in the perturbations. The simultaneous quantisation of the hom…
Primordial SU(2) gauge fields with an isotropic background lead to the production of spin-2 particles during inflation. We provide a unified formalism to compute this effect in all of the inflation models with isotropic SU(2) gauge fields such as Gauge-flation and Chromo-Natural inflation with and without spectator axion fields or the mass of the gauge field from the Higgs mechanism. First, we calculate the number and energy densities of the spin-2 particles. We then obtain exact analytical formulae for their backreaction on the background equations of motion of SU(2) and axion fields in (quas…
We study the production and backreaction of massive vector-like fermions in the background of a classical SU(2) gauge field during axion-driven inflation. We demonstrate all ultraviolet divergences due to the interactions with the fermions can be absorbed by renormalization of the axion wavefunction and the gauge coupling. The effects of the fermion-axion interaction vanish in the massless limit as required by symmetry. For very massive fermions, contact interactions are induced between the axion, the gauge field and the gravitational field. In this massive limit, we find the usual axion-gauge…
We construct high-precision models of the Universe that contain radiation, a cosmological constant, and periodically distributed inhomogeneous matter. The density contrasts in these models are allowed to be highly non-linear, and the cosmological expansion is treated as an emergent phenomenon. This is achieved by employing a generalised version of the post-Newtonian formalism, and by joining together inhomogeneous regions of space-time at reflection symmetric junctions. Using these models, we find general expressions that precisely and unambiguously quantify the effect of small-scale inhomogen…
This paper discusses the phenomenon of backreaction within the Szekeres model. Cosmological backreaction describes how the mean global evolution of the Universe deviates from the Friedmannian evolution. The analysis is based on models of a single cosmological environment and the global ensemble of the Szekeres models (of the Swiss-Cheese-type and Styrofoam-type). The obtained results show that non-linear growth of cosmic structures is associated with the growth of the spatial curvature $Ω_{\cal R}$ (in the FLRW limit $Ω_{\cal R} \to Ω_k$). If averaged over global scales the result depends on t…
In this review, we investigate the question of backreaction in different approaches to cosmological perturbation theory, and with a special focus on quantum theoretical aspects. By backreaction, we refer here to the effects of matter field or cosmological inhomogeneities on the homogeneous dynamical background degrees of freedom of cosmology. We begin with an overview of classical cosmological backreaction which is ideally suited for physical situations in the late time Universe. We then proceed backwards in time, considering semiclassical approaches such as semiclassical or stochastic (semicl…
We study how inhomogeneities of the cosmological fluid fields backreact on the homogeneous part of energy density and how they modify the Friedmann equations. In general, backreaction requires to go beyond the pressureless ideal fluid approximation, and this can lead to a reduced growth of cosmological large scale structure. Since observational evidence favours evolution close to the standard growing mode in the linear regime, we focus on two-component fluids in which the non-ideal fluid is gravitationally coupled to cold dark matter and in which a standard growing mode persists. This is reali…
We compute the graviton one-loop correction to the expectation value of the local expansion rate in slow-roll inflation, with both slow-roll parameters finite. The calculation is based on a recent method to explicitly construct gauge-invariant observables in perturbative quantum gravity at all orders in perturbation theory, and it is particularly suited in cases of highly-symmetrical space-time backgrounds. Our analysis adds to recent calculations of that correction in de Sitter space-time and in single-field inflation with constant deceleration. In the former case a vanishing one-loop correct…
In this article, we present an example of an inhomogeneous cosmological model, which is inspired by the linear perturbation theory. The metric of this model can be described as the Einstein-de Sitter background with a periodically distributed dust overdensities. The model construction enables application of the Green-Wald averaging scheme and the Buchert averaging technique simultaneously. We compare the angular diameter distance function of the considered model to the angular diameter distances corresponding to the average space-times given by the Green-Wald and the Buchert frameworks respect…
This is the second paper in a series of four in which we use space adiabatic methods in order to incorporate backreactions among the homogeneous and between the homogeneous and inhomogeneous degrees of freedom in quantum cosmological perturbation theory. The purpose of the present paper is twofold. On the one hand, it illustrates the formalism of space adiabatic perturbation theory (SAPT) for two simple quantum mechanical toy models. On the other, it proves the main point, namely that backreactions lead to additional correction terms in effective Hamiltonians that one would otherwise neglect i…
Cosmic backreaction refers to the general question of whether a homogeneous and isotropic cosmological model is able to predict the correct expansion dynamics of our inhomogeneous Universe. One aspect of this issue concerns the validity of the continuous approximation: does a system of point masses expand the same way as a fluid does? This article shows that it is not exactly the case in Newtonian gravity, although the associated corrections vanish in an infinite Universe. It turns out that Gauss's law is a key ingredient for such corrections to vanish. Backreaction, therefore, generically ari…
This is the third paper in a series of four in which we use space adiabatic methods in order to incorporate backreactions among the homogeneous and between the homogeneous and inhomogeneous degrees of freedom in quantum cosmological perturbation theory. In this paper we consider a particular kind of cosmological perturbation theory which starts from a gauge fixed version of General Relativity. The gauge fixing is performed using a material reference system called Gaussian dust. The resulting system has no constraints any more but possesses a physical Hamiltonian that drives the dynamics of bot…
Description of our cosmological spacetime as a perturbed conformal Newtonian metric and implications for the backreaction proposal for the accelerating universe
We examine the implementation of Buchert's and Green & Wald's averaging formalisms in exact spherically symmetric and plane symmetric dust-filled cosmological models. We find that, given a cosmological space-time, Buchert's averaging scheme gives a faithful way of interpreting the large-scale expansion of space, and explicit terms that precisely quantify deviations from the behaviour expected from the Friedmann equations of homogeneous and isotropic cosmological models. The Green & Wald formalism, on the other hand, does not appear to yield any information about the large-scale properties of a…
