Late-time quantum backreaction of a very light nonminimally coupled scalar

TL;DR

This paper studies how quantum fluctuations of a very light, nonminimally coupled scalar field can significantly influence the Universe's expansion, potentially explaining dark energy through quantum backreaction effects accumulated during inflation.

Contribution

It demonstrates that quantum backreaction from a light nonminimally coupled scalar can grow during inflation and account for late-time acceleration, linking early universe physics to dark energy.

Findings

Quantum backreaction grows exponentially during inflation for negative nonminimal coupling.

Backreaction can reach a magnitude comparable to a cosmological constant.

Inflation naturally sets initial conditions for late-time accelerated expansion.

Abstract

We investigate the backreaction of the quantum fluctuations of a very light ($m \!\lesssim\! H_{\text{today}}$) nonminimally coupled spectator scalar field on the expansion dynamics of the Universe. The one-loop expectation value of the energy momentum tensor of these fluctuations, as a measure of the backreaction, is computed throughout the expansion history from the early inflationary universe until the onset of recent acceleration today. We show that, when the nonminimal coupling $\xi$ to Ricci curvature is negative ($\xi_c \!=\! 1/6$ corresponding to conformal coupling), the quantum backreaction grows exponentially during inflation, such that it can grow large enough rather quickly (within a few hundred e-foldings) to survive until late time and constitute a contribution of the cosmological constant type of the right magnitude to appreciably alter the expansion dynamics. The unique feature of this model is in that, under rather generic assumptions, inflation provides natural explanation for the initial conditions needed to explain the late-time accelerated expansion of the Universe, making it a particularly attractive model of dark energy.