Inflation in a Symmetric Vacuum

TL;DR

This paper proposes that a symmetric superposition of coherent states in a finite universe can lead to inflation and dark energy effects, with the energy decreasing exponentially as universe volume grows, though the effect is only significant early on.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mechanism where symmetric superpositions of coherent states drive inflation and dark energy phenomena in a finite universe.

Findings

Energy decreases exponentially with universe volume

The mechanism can explain early universe inflation

Potential contribution to dark energy understanding

Abstract

If in a finite universe, the tree-level vacuum is a symmetric superposition of coherent states, in each of which the inflaton field assumes a different, energy-minimizing mean value (vev), then the resulting energy is positive and decreases exponentially as the volume of the universe increases. This effect can drive inflation when that volume is small and explain part of dark energy when it is big, but the effect is exceedingly tiny except at very early times.