Particle creation and particle number in an expanding universe

DOI10.1088/1751-8113/45/37/374023zbMATH Open1251.83025arXiv1205.5616OpenAlexW3101536032MaRDI QIDQ2920331FDOQ2920331

Leonard Parker

Publication date: 16 October 2012

Published in: Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: I describe the logical basis of the method that I developed in 1962 and 1963 to define a quantum operator corresponding to the observable particle number of a quantized free scalar field in a spatially-flat isotropically expanding (and/or contracting) universe. This work also showed for the first time that particles were created from the vacuum by the curved space-time of an expanding spatially-flat FLRW universe. The same process is responsible for creating the nearly scale-invariant spectrum of quantized perturbations of the inflaton scalar field during the inflationary stage of the expansion of the universe. I explain how the method that I used to obtain the observable particle number operator involved adiabatic invariance of the particle number (hence, the name adiabatic regularization) and the quantum theory of measurement of particle number in an expanding universe. I also show how I was led in a surprising way, to the discovery in 1964 that there would be no particle creation by these spatially-flat FLRW universes for free fields of any integer or half-integer spin satisfying field equations that are invariant under conformal transformations of the metric. The methods I used to define adiabatic regularization for particle number, were based on generally-covariant concepts like adiabatic invariance and measurement that were fundamental and determined results that were unique to each given adiabatic order.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1205.5616

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

History of mathematics in the 20th century (01A60) Biographies, obituaries, personalia, bibliographies (01A70) Quantum field theory on curved space or space-time backgrounds (81T20) Methods of quantum field theory in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C47) Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Astrophysical cosmology (85A40) History of relativity and gravitational theory (83-03)

Cited In (9)

• QED plasma in the early universe
• Advances in QED with intense background fields
• Anisotropic expansion of the universe and generation of quantum interference in light propagation
• Unruh-DeWitt particle detectors in bouncing cosmologies
• Particle creation by a massless spin-1/2 field in a warped cosmological braneworld scenario
• Particle creation in anisotropically expanding universe
• The cost of building a wall for a fermion
• Statistical effect of interactions on particle creation in expanding universe.
• Quantum gravity on polygons and R×Zn FLRW model ^*

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