Model independent bounds for the number of e-folds during the evolution of the universe

DOI10.1088/1475-7516/2023/03/004zbMATH Open1522.83292arXiv2212.03730OpenAlexW4322775709MaRDI QIDQ6157760FDOQ6157760

Authors: G. German 

Publication date: 12 May 2023

Published in: Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We present a simple procedure to obtain universal bounds for quantities of cosmological interest, such as the number of $e$-folds during inflation, reheating, and radiation, as well as the reheating temperature. The main assumption is to represent each of the various epochs of evolution of the universe as being due to a single substance changing instantaneously into the next, describing a new era of evolution of the universe. This assumption, commonly used to obtain solutions of the Friedmann equations for simple cosmological models, is implemented here to find model-independent bounds on cosmological quantities of interest. In particular, we find that the bound $N_{k}approx56$ for $-frac13<omeg{a}_{re}<frac13$ is very robust as an upper bound on the number of $e$-folds during inflation and also as a lower bound when $omeg{a}_{re}>frac13$, where $omeg{a}_{re}$ is the effective equation of state parameter during reheating. These are model-independent results that any single-field model of inflation should satisfy. As an example, we illustrate the two approaches with the basic $alpha$ attractor model and show how they complement each other.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.03730

zbMATH Keywords

inflationphysics of the early universeinflation and CMBR theory

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Computational difficulty of problems (lower bounds, completeness, difficulty of approximation, etc.) (68Q17) Classical and relativistic thermodynamics (80A10) Unified quantum theories (81V22) Classes of solutions; algebraically special solutions, metrics with symmetries for problems in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C20) Asymptotic procedures (radiation, news functions, (mathcal{H} )-spaces, etc.) in general relativity and gravitational theory (83C30) Relativistic cosmology (83F05) Geometrodynamics and the holographic principle (83E05)

Cites Work

• Nonperturbative dynamics of reheating after inflation: A review
• Inflation
• Inflaton oscillations and post-inflationary reheating
• Reheating in models with non-minimal coupling in metric and Palatini formalisms
• Curing inflationary degeneracies using reheating predictions and relic gravitational waves
• Model independent results for the inflationary epoch and the breaking of the degeneracy of models of inflation

Cited In (2)

• Novel CMB constraints on the α parameter in alpha-attractor models
• Reheating constraints and consistency relations of the Starobinsky model and some of its generalizations

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