Geodesic deviation and particle creation in curved spacetimes

TL;DR

This paper explores how accelerated geodesic deviation in curved spacetimes can lead to massive particle creation through quantum tunneling, with calculations confirming known production rates in de Sitter space.

Contribution

It introduces a quantum mechanical framework linking geodesic deviation to particle creation, providing a semiclassical calculation that matches previous results.

Findings

Particle creation probability in de Sitter space computed and confirmed

Analogous relationship between pair production and electric field effects

Framework applicable to curved spacetimes like de Sitter and FRW

Abstract

A quantum mechanical picture, relating accelerated geodesic deviation to creation of massive particles via quantum tunneling in curved background spacetimes, is presented. The effect is analogous to pair production by an electric field and leads naturally to production of massive particles in de Sitter and superluminal FRW spacetimes. The probability of particle production in de Sitter space per unit volume and time is computed in a leading semiclassical approximation and shown to coincide with the previously obtained expression.