Multiple quantum collapse of the inflaton field and its implications on the birth of cosmic structure

TL;DR

This paper explores how multiple quantum collapses of the inflaton field could explain the emergence of cosmic structures, addressing symmetry issues in standard inflation models and deriving constraints on collapse scenarios.

Contribution

It introduces a model with multiple quantum collapses per mode of the inflaton field, providing new insights into symmetry breaking in cosmic structure formation.

Findings

Results depend on the detailed characterization of collapses.

Constraints on the number of collapses per mode are derived.

Model sensitivity to collapse parameters is demonstrated.

Abstract

The standard inflationary account for the origin of cosmic structure is, without a doubt, extremely successful. However, it is not fully satisfactory as has been argued in [A. Perez, H. Sahlmann, and D. Sudarsky, Class. Quantum Grav., 23, 2317, (2006), arXiv:gr-qc/0508100]. The central point is that, in the standard accounts, the inhomogeneity and anisotropy of our universe seems to emerge, unexplained, from an exactly homogeneous and isotropic initial state through processes that do not break those symmetries. The proposal made there to address this shortcoming calls for a dynamical and self-induced quantum collapse of the original homogeneous and isotropic state of the inflaton. In this article, we consider the possibility of a multiplicity of collapses in each one of the modes of the Quantum Field. As we will see, the results are sensitive to a more detailed characterization of the collapse than those studied in the previous works, and in this regard two simple options will be studied. We find important constraints on the model, most remarkably on the number of possible collapses for each mode.