A promising candidate for cold dark matter is primordial black holes (PBH) formed from strong primordial quantum fluctuations. A necessary condition for the formation of PBH's is a change of sign in the tilt governing the anomalous scale invariance of the power spectrum from red at large scales into blue at small scales. Non-perturbative information on the dependence of the power spectrum tilt on energy scale can be extracted from the quantum Fisher information measuring the energy dependence of the quantum phases defining the de Sitter vacua. We show that this non-perturbative quantum tilt goes from a red tilted phase, at large scales, into a blue tilted phase at small scales converging to $n_s=2$ in the UV. This allows the formation of PBH's in the range of masses $\lesssim 10^{20} gr$.
Employing an effective field theory approach to inflationary perturbations, we analyze in detail the effect of curvature-generated Lagrangian operators on various observables, focusing on their running with scales. At quadratic order, we solve the equation of motion at next-to-leading leading order in a generalized slow-roll approximation for a very general theory of single-field inflation. We derive the resulting power spectrum, its tilt and running. We then focus on the contribution to the primordial non-Gaussianity amplitude f_{NL} sourced by a specific interaction term. We show that the ru…
The most robust prediction of inflationary cosmology is the existence of a red tilt for the spectrum of curvature fluctuations that is experimentally of order $0.04$. The tilt is derived solving the exact equation for quantum fluctuations in a quasi de Sitter background defined by a equation of state $ε\equiv \frac{(p+ρ)}ρ$ with $ε$ small but non vanishing. The experimental data selects among the different quasi de Sitter inflaton potentials. The origin of the lack of scale invariance associated with the tilt is however classical in essence and parametrized by the slow roll of the inflaton pot…
Standard inflationary models yield a characteristic signature of a primordial power spectrum with a red tensor and scalar tilt. Nevertheless, Cannone et al recently suggested that, by breaking the assumption of spatial diffeomorphism invariance in the context of the effective field theory of inflation, a blue tensor spectrum can be achieved without violating the Null Energy Condition. In this context, we explore in which cases a blue tensor tilt can be obtained along with a red tilt in the scalar spectrum. Ultimately, we analyze under which conditions this model can reproduce the specific cons…
In a recent paper we proposed a mechanism for a continuous transition between a contracting Ekpyrotic phase and the Standard Big Bang phase of expansion: the bounce is generated by an S-brane which represents the effects of higher mass string states in the low energy effective field theory. We showed that gravitational waves on cosmological scales obtain a nearly scale-invariant spectrum. Here, we study the cosmological fluctuations in this setup, assuming that the S-brane has zero shear. We find a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological perturbations with a slight red tilt. The scenar…
One of the most important achievements of inflationary cosmology is to predict a departure from scale invariance of the power spectrum for scalar curvature cosmological fluctuations. This tilt is understood as a consequence of a quasi de Sitter classical equation of state describing the inflationary dark energy dominated era. Here, following previous work, we find a departure of scale invariance for the quantum Fisher information associated to de Sitter vacuum for scalar quantum spectator modes. This gives rise to a purely quantum cosmological tilt with a well defined dependence on energy scal…
We show that in tilting perfect fluid cosmological models with an ultra-radiative equation of state, generically the tilt becomes extreme at late times and, as the tilt instability sets in, observers moving with the tilting fluid will experience singular behaviour in which infinite expansion is reached within a finite proper time, similar to that of phantom cosmology (but without the need for exotic forms of matter).
We use six tilted spatially-flat and untilted non-flat dark energy cosmological models in analyses of South Pole Telescope polarization (SPTpol) cosmic microwave background (CMB) data, alone and in combination with Planck 2015 CMB data and non-CMB data, namely, the Pantheon Type Ia supernovae apparent magnitudes, a collection of baryon acoustic oscillation data points, Hubble parameter measurements, and growth rates. Although the cosmological models that best-fit the Planck CMB and non-CMB data do not provide good fits to the SPTpol data, with the $χ^2$'s exceeding the expected value, given th…
In this paper we constrain the cosmological parameters, in particular the tilt of tensor power spectrum, by adopting Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (B2), Planck released in 2013 (P13) and Wilkinson Microwaves Anisotropy Probe 9-year Polarization (WP) data. We find that a blue tilted tensor power spectrum is preferred at more than $3σ$ confidence level if the data from B2 are assumed to be totally interpreted as the relic gravitational waves, but a scale invariant tensor power spectrum is consistent with the data once the polarized dust is taken into account. The recent…
We consider a simple model of cosmological collapse driven by canonical fields with exponential potentials. We generalise the two-field ekpyrotic collapse to consider non-orthogonal or tilted potentials and give the general condition for isocurvature field fluctuations to have a scale-invariant spectrum in this model. In particular we show that tilted potentials allow for a slightly red spectrum of perturbations as required by current observations. However a red spectrum of fluctuations implies that the two-field ekpyrotic phase must have a finite duration and requires a preceding phase which …
Within recently proposed scenario which explains flatness of the spectrum of scalar cosmological perturbations by a combination of conformal and global symmetries, we discuss the effect of weak breaking of conformal invariance. We find that the scalar power spectrum obtains a small tilt which depends on both the strength of conformal symmetry breaking and the law of evolution of the scale factor.
For suitable cosmological backgrounds, thermal fluctuations of a gas of strings can generate a scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological fluctuations without requiring a phase of inflationary expansion. We highlight the key points of this mechanism, and discuss cosmological backgrounds in which this scenario can be realized. The spectrum of cosmological perturbations has a small red tilt (like in scalar field-driven inflation) but (unlike in inflation) there is a small blue tilt of the spectrum of gravitational waves.
Origin of the red spectral tilt in Inflation without an Inflaton
University of Barcelona（巴塞罗那大学）；ICREA（加泰罗尼亚高级研究所）；Università degli Studi di Padova（帕多瓦大学）；INFN, Sezione di Padova（意大利国家核物理研究所帕多瓦分部）；INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova（意大利国家天体物理研究所帕多瓦天文台）；Scuola Superiore Meridionale（南方高等学院）；INFN, Sezione di Napoli（意大利国家核物理研究所那不勒斯分部）；Department of Astronomy, Space Science and Meteorology, Cairo University（开罗大学天文、空间科学与气象系）；Gran Sasso Science Institute（格兰萨索科学研究所）；Università di Pisa（比萨大学）；INFN sezione di Pisa（意大利国家核物理研究所比萨分部）
We compute the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in a scenario in which inflation is driven by radiation in a non-commutative space-time. In this scenario, the non-commutativity of space and time leads to a modified dispersion relation for radiation with two branches, which allows for inflation. The initial conditions for the cosmological fluctuations are thermal. This is to be contrasted with the situation in models of inflation in which the accelerated expansion of space is driven by the potential energy of a scalar field, and in which the fluctuations are of quantum vacuum type. We fin…
The primordial spectrum of cosmological tensor perturbations is considered as a possible probe of quantum gravity effects. Together with string theory, loop quantum gravity is one of the most promising frameworks to study quantum effects in the early universe. We show that the associated holonomy correction should modify the potential seen by gravitational waves during the inflationary amplification. The resulting power spectrum should exhibit a characteristic tilt. This opens a new window for cosmological tests of quantum gravity.
We review the status of String Gas Cosmology after the 2015 Planck data release. String gas cosmology predicts an almost scale-invariant spectrum of cosmological perturbations with a slight red tilt, like the simplest inflationary models. It also predicts a scale-invariant spectrum of gravitational waves with a slight blue tilt, unlike inflationary models which predict a red tilt of the gravitational wave spectrum. String gas cosmology yields two consistency relations which determine the tensor to scalar ratio and the slope of the gravitational wave spectrum given the amplitude and tilt of the…
We show that Dark Matter consisting of ultralight bosons in a Bose-Einstein condensate induces, via its quantum potential, a small positive cosmological constant which matches the observed value. This explains its origin and why the densities of Dark Matter and Dark Energy are approximately equal.
The recently suggested generalized unimodular gravity theory, which was originally put forward as a model of dark energy, can serve as a model of cosmological inflation driven by the effective perfect fluid -- the dark purely gravitational sector of the theory. Its excitations are scalar gravitons which can generate, in the domain free from ghost and gradient instabilities, the red tilted primordial power spectrum of CMB perturbations matching with observations. The reconstruction of the parametric dependence of the action of the theory in the early inflationary Universe is qualitatively sketc…
The aim of Quantum Fisher Cosmology is to use the quantum Fisher information about pure de Sitter states to derive model independent observational consequences of the existence of a primordial phase of the Universe of de Sitter accelerated expansion. These quantum features are encoded in a scale dependent quantum cosmological tilt that defines what we can call the de Sitter universality class. The experimental predictions are: i) A phase transition from red into blue tilt at a scale order $k= 1$ Mpc$^{-1}$ that naturally solves the cosmological trans-Planckian problem, ii) A spectral index for…
We propose a mechanism borrowed from string theory which yields a non-singular transition from a phase of Ekpyrotic contraction to the expanding phase of Standard Big Bang cosmology. The same mechanism converts the initial vacuum spectrum of cosmological fluctuations before the bounce into a scale-invariant one, and also changes the spectrum of gravitational waves into an almost scale-invariant one. The scalar and tensor tilts are predicted to be the same, in contrast to the predictions from the "String Gas Cosmology" scenario. The amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum depends on the ra…
We present nonsingular, homogeneous and isotropic bouncing solutions of the conformal Galileon model. We show that such solutions necessarily begin with a radiation-dominated contracting phase. This is followed by a quintom scenario in which the background equation of state crosses the cosmological constant boundary allowing for a nonsingular bounce which in turn is followed by Galilean Genesis. We analyze the spectrum of cosmological perturbations in this background. Our results show that the fluctuations evolve smoothly and without any pathology, but the adiabatic modes form a blue tilted sp…
We outline a new explanation for the primordial density perturbations in cosmology. Dimension zero fields are a minimal addition to the Standard Model of particle physics: if the Higgs doublet is emergent, they cancel the vacuum energy and both Weyl anomalies without introducing any new particles. Furthermore, the cancellation explains why there are three generations of elementary particles, including RH neutrinos. We show how quantum zero point fluctuations of dimension zero fields seed nearly scale-invariant, Gaussian, adiabatic density perturbations. We calculate the amplitude of the primor…
Bounds on Gravitational Wave Production from Unitarity in an Early NEC-Violating Model
Institute for Basic Science (IBS)（基础科学研究院）；Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), UTIAS, The University of Tokyo（东京大学宇宙边缘物理学研究所）
The Higgs-Dilaton model is able to produce an early inflationary expansion followed by a dark energy dominated era responsible for the late time acceleration of the Universe. At tree level, the model predicts a small tensor-to-scalar ratio ($0.0021\leq r \leq 0.0034$), a tiny negative running of the spectral tilt ($-0.00057 \leq dn_s/d\ln k \leq -0.00034$) and a nontrivial consistency relation between the spectral tilt of scalar perturbations and the dark energy equation of state, which turns out to be close to a cosmological constant ($0 \leq 1+w_{DE} \leq 0.014$). We reconsider the validity …
We measure cosmological parameters using the three-dimensional power spectrum P(k) from over 200,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in combination with WMAP and other data. Our results are consistent with a ``vanilla'' flat adiabatic Lambda-CDM model without tilt (n=1), running tilt, tensor modes or massive neutrinos. Adding SDSS information more than halves the WMAP-only error bars on some parameters, tightening 1 sigma constraints on the Hubble parameter from h~0.74+0.18-0.07 to h~0.70+0.04-0.03, on the matter density from Omega_m~0.25+/-0.10 to Omega_m~0.30+/-0.04 (1 sigma)…
It has recently been shown that a Hagedorn phase of string gas cosmology can provide a causal mechanism for generating a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of scalar metric fluctuations, without the need for an intervening period of de Sitter expansion. In this paper we compute the spectrum of tensor metric fluctuations (gravitational waves) in this scenario, and show that it is also nearly scale-invariant. However, whereas the spectrum of scalar modes has a small red-tilt, the spectrum of tensor modes has a small blue tilt, unlike what occurs in slow-roll inflation. This provides a possible obse…
