De Sitter space without dynamical quantum fluctuations

DOI10.1007/S10701-016-9996-8zbMATH Open1380.81023arXiv1405.0298OpenAlexW1958592181MaRDI QIDQ1689679FDOQ1689679

Authors: Kimberly K. Boddy, Sean M. Carroll, Jason Pollack 

Publication date: 17 January 2018

Published in: Foundations of Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We argue that, under certain plausible assumptions, de Sitter space settles into a quiescent vacuum in which there are no dynamical quantum fluctuations. Such fluctuations require either an evolving microstate, or time-dependent histories of out-of-equilibrium recording devices, which we argue are absent in stationary states. For a massive scalar field in a fixed de Sitter background, the cosmic no-hair theorem implies that the state of the patch approaches the vacuum, where there are no fluctuations. We argue that an analogous conclusion holds whenever a patch of de Sitter is embedded in a larger theory with an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, including semiclassical quantum gravity with false vacua or complementarity in theories with at least one Minkowski vacuum. This reasoning provides an escape from the Boltzmann brain problem in such theories. It also implies that vacuum states do not uptunnel to higher-energy vacua and that perturbations do not decohere while slow-roll inflation occurs, suggesting that eternal inflation is much less common than often supposed. On the other hand, if a de Sitter patch is a closed system with a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, there will be Poincare recurrences and dynamical Boltzmann fluctuations into lower-entropy states. Our analysis does not alter the conventional understanding of the origin of density fluctuations from primordial inflation, since reheating naturally generates a high-entropy environment and leads to decoherence, nor does it affect the existence of non-dynamical vacuum fluctuations such as those that give rise to the Casimir effect.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1405.0298

Recommendations

• Back(reaction) to the future in the Unruh-De Sitter state
• Scalar field instability in de Sitter space--time
• De Sitter vacua, renormalization, and locality
• Long-time asymptotics of a Bohmian scalar quantum field in de Sitter space-time
• On the perturbative stability of quantum field theories in de Sitter space

zbMATH Keywords

cosmologyfoundations of quantum mechanicsquantum fluctuationsEverett (many-worlds) interpretation

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Physics (00A79) General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05) Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15) Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Casimir effect in quantum field theory (81T55)

Cites Work

• Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical
• Unified dynamics for microscopic and macroscopic systems
• The Census Taker's hat
• A Suggested Interpretation of the Quantum Theory in Terms of "Hidden" Variables. I
• On the generators of quantum dynamical semigroups
• Black holes and entropy
• The anthropic landscape of string theory
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• Quantum fields in curved space.
• Physical theories, eternal inflation, and the quantum universe
• Comparison of second-order mixed symplectic integrator between semi-implicit Euler method and implicit midpoint rule
• De Sitter vacua in string theory
• Elliptic de Sitter space:<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>d</mml:mi><mml:mi>S</mml:mi><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:msub><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math>
• Quantum mechanics, spacetime locality, and gravity
• The Primordial Density Perturbation
• Quantization of four-form fluxes and dynamical neutralization of the cosmological constant
• Correlators, Feynman diagrams, and quantum no-hair in deSitter spacetime
• Asymptotic behavior of homogeneous cosmological models in the presence of a positive cosmological constant
• The phase transition to eternal inflation
• Semiclassicality and decoherence of cosmological perturbations
• Holographic space-time, Newton's law, and the dynamics of horizons
• The emergent multiverse. Quantum theory according to the Everett interpretation.
• Pointer states for primordial fluctuations in inflationary cosmology
• THE GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF THE INFLATIONARY UNIVERSE
• Massless interacting scalar quantum fields in deSitter spacetime
• The IR stability of de Sitter QFT: Physical initial conditions
• On Epstein's trajectory model of non-relativistic quantum mechanics
• Title not available (Why is that?)
• On the decoherence of primordial fluctuations during inflation
• Attractor states and quantum instabilities in de Sitter space

Cited In (6)

• Towards space from Hilbert space: finding lattice structure in finite-dimensional quantum systems
• On memory in exponentially expanding spaces
• Symmetry arguments against regular probability: a reply to recent objections
• Completely discretized, finite quantum mechanics
• Cosmological decoherence from thermal gravitons
• Energy non-conservation in quantum mechanics

This page was built for publication: De Sitter space without dynamical quantum fluctuations

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q1689679)